


One More Chance

by katychan666



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alternate Universe - Human, Coming Out, Divorce, First Meet, Lawyer!Alec, Lydia is nice, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Matchmaker!Magnus, Starting Over
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:40:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 56,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28576143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katychan666/pseuds/katychan666
Summary: Nice career, good marriage, money - life was supposed to be perfect, no? Alec married Lydia when he was young, thinking that he made the right decision, but after a few years he realises that he wants to be happy. And that is how Alec gives himself another chance to find his true love... the path leading him to Brooklyn's most famous matchmaker...
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 235
Kudos: 199





	1. Chapter 1

Alec had, what was considered by many, a perfect and happy life. Coming from quite a wealthy family with a good background, a good job and a happy marriage - at least that was how the outside world perceived him. And Alec did consider himself lucky, he never took things for granted, he appreciated everything that he had and got along the way. He was working hard, he was one of the best lawyers that their company had, along with Lydia, his wife. The two of them were considered a power duo; the best of the best. Alec took great pride in what he did. He did like his job, working alongside Lydia was easy, it made easy. Being around Lydia made a lot of things easy and convenient for Alec.  _ Too convenient at times.  _

Life wasn’t  _ bad _ per say, Alec liked coming back home to their apartment. He and Lydia made a good pair, at least that was what he was made to believe. The two of them met in college and became friends almost straight away. One thing led to another and before Alec really knew it, he was saying  _ I do _ just three years ago. Three years of marriage. Those were fine. Not great, but not bad either. It was just… fine. Everything was fine and Alec convinced himself that he was okay with only things being fine. His parents wanted him to have a successful career, which he had. They wanted him to have a successful marriage, which he had - in their eyes. He wanted to make them happy in every aspect that was possible, but there was a trick to that -  _ their happiness mattered more than his own.  _ Alec was chipping away at his own happiness, it wasn’t until one day that he realised that he indeed wanted more from life.

It’s been brewing inside for months now, how to tell Lydia that he couldn’t do this anymore. He knew  _ why _ , he knew all along, but he convinced himself that it didn’t really matter. That he could do this - Lydia was his best friend, how bad could it be? Being married to her should be good; she was a great and supportive person. And yet it wasn’t enough, which felt unfair to her. Alec didn’t like how he felt, Lydia deserved more. And so did he. They both deserved something more than that, but at the same time he knew what was going to happen if he would bring it up; Lydia would blame herself, she took everything to heart and that was why he was holding back. Until one particular evening when he couldn’t hold back anymore, he just couldn’t.

There they were, in the dining room, eating the dinner. Lydia cooked, Alec helped as much as he possibly could. He learned quite a thing or two from her. Lydia was telling him about her new client, how the new case that she was on was tough and Alec knew what she was doing - it’s been a long day and she just wanted to vent a little bit. But Alec couldn’t concentrate at all. There was this talk that he had with his friend at work that day;  _ true _ happiness. It was something that made Alec think about his own true happiness. It was the last straw, the little push that Alec still needed to finally gather the courage within to tell Lydia that he couldn’t do this anymore.

The way Theodore spoke about his significant other; how he was happy made Alec sad. Because, yes, he was happy with Lydia, but nothing like that. He also wanted to feel the butterflies in his stomach everytime he would kiss them, he wanted to feel his heart skip a beat, he wanted…  _ he wanted something that he couldn’t have for all these years.  _ And he never worded what he really wanted, though he had a feeling that at least his sister knew that something was wrong. Isabelle was always able to read him like an open book and he loved her for that, but he was too afraid to tell her the truth. But maybe it was true what she said all those years back then, when he and Lydia announced their engagement. Everyone was excited about the news, everyone  _ but _ her.

“So I told him that this will take a little bit longer,” said Lydia and brought Alec back to reality. Alec was staring down to his plate, trying to concentrate on what Lydia was saying, but he couldn’t. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts and he swallowed. Maybe he shouldn’t say this now, she had a long day. But if he wouldn’t say it now, then he would never get this off of his chest. It was… hard. He was preparing this speech for hours now. Heck, he was preparing for months and he could never say it. He never felt this ready, but at the same time he didn’t want to hurt Lydia. 

“Oh, yeah, makes sense,” mumbled Alec and Lydia looked up at him and cocked her head to the side. Alec didn’t seem interested in what she was saying. The food on his plate was still untouched and she narrowed her eyes. Was something the matter? Alec seemed worried and disconnected, he wasn’t in the room at all. He was lost in his own thoughts and she narrowed her eyes.  _ She noticed that a lot lately, it made her wonder what in the world was happening.  _

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said the blonde one and smiled softly. “Here I am making the whole dinner about me. I wasn’t the only one with a long day, huh?” asked Lydia and Alec gave her a little weak smile and he shrugged it off. Lydia huffed and then nodded, so that was all that it was? Another long day at work? “I totally get you,” said Lydia. “Got another hard case that you have to work on?” asked Lydia and Alec shrugged. 

Not really, he had a pretty boring day at work, he was mostly sorting through the files. “Not really,” blurted Alec out and Lydia’s heart sank again because what was the matter then if it wasn’t work? Lydia learned pretty early on that Alec didn’t really like talking about his feelings - at least not the negative ones. So, she never pushed him, but it looked like she would have to. It’s been going for a while now. Alec being distant, it was… she was trying to pretend that everything was okay, that everything was working, but she wondered for how long she could keep it up. It also made her wonder - did she do something that drove Alec away from her?

“Oh,” said Lydia and then forced the smile back on. It was something that she learned along the way. Things weren’t always perfect, but still! “Something bothering you, Alec?” asked Lydia and Alec shrugged, feeling his heart pounding. It was now or never - it really felt like that. Alec didn’t want to miss out on a chance, but at the same time he didn’t want to hurt Lydia’s feelings. It was one of the many reasons why he was holding back for such a long time, but still- “It’s okay, you can tell me,” she said and reached across the table with her hand and placed it on top of Alec’s, her thumb gently caressing the back of his palm and Alec gulped. 

_ Lydia shouldn’t be so nice to him, not when he was about to break her heart.  _ Alec chewed on his lip and he puffed his cheeks. In a way he felt like he was lying to her for the best seven years. He felt terrible about it; he was lying to everyone around him, but he was just too-  _ He didn’t know how to tell them the truth.  _ He wanted to be himself, though, he wanted to be himself so much that it hurt and he swallowed thickly and finally looked up at Lydia, her blue eyes carefully studying him, the smile on her face bright and understanding. She never  _ not _ smiled, she never stopped supporting him and that was why he needed to tell her. They both deserved to be happy and he knew that this couldn’t be enough for Lydia. She deserved someone that would able to love her properly and not like-

“I want a divorce,” said Alec, kind of blurting it out, finally stopping thinking too much and Lydia suddenly froze in place. She needed a while to grasp the meaning of Alec’s words -  _ Alec wanted to get a divorce?  _ She heard that right? Lydia didn’t know if she should be taking Alec’s words seriously or…  _ he really said that he wanted a divorce?  _ Lydia swallowed thickly. Alec did not dare to look at her, he felt guilt pooling inside of his chest, the temperature in the room dropping and he couldn’t even think about how much this was going to hurt Lydia. From her point of view, they had a very happy marriage… right?

Lydia didn’t say anything for a very long time. She couldn’t really understand why Alec would say something like that. Things weren’t perfect always, but who needed perfection? It didn’t make any sense - they were happy together, no? Alec never really said anything… was there someone else? No, Alec would never cheat. He wasn’t that kind of man. Maybe he fell out of love with her? It was her fault? Lydia was somewhere in the middle of being heartbroken, sad and angry. This… just like that? Alec wanted an easy way out? He didn’t even want to try to save their marriage. 

_ And still it didn’t make sense - why?  _

Lydia could tell that something was going on with Alec, but never in a million years would she think that he was distant because he wanted a divorce. Alec slowly looked up at the other, who was now looking in front of herself, dropping his hand from her grasp and her face was pale. Alec could read what she was thinking, but he didn’t have to.  _ What else could it be?  _ Alec felt terrible, wanting to take those words back. Selfish, he was being selfish. His own happiness didn’t really matter if it meant hurting someone else in that process. He was…

“Why?” asked Lydia and Alec didn’t prepare for that question even though he knew that he should have. Alec didn’t say anything, Lydia slowly looking up at him, her blue eyes heavy with tears. “Have I done something wrong?” asked Lydia and Alec quickly shook his head. He knew how it was going to sound - but it really wasn’t her. It was  _ him.  _ He didn’t… he couldn’t-

“It’s not you, it’s-”

“But-but a divorce?” stammered the other one, raising her voice a little bit and Alec felt his heart sinking. “Tell me, what’s wrong? You so rarely want to open up to me about your feelings. Tell me, what’s the matter?” asked Lydia. “We’ll go to a marriage counselor, we’ll work this out. Whatever it is, you-you can tell me,” said Lydia, desperate because she didn’t want to lose Alec. Alec felt his heart breaking and he held in his voice for a long time before he dared to speak up. 

“Lydia, this isn’t working, we-”

“W-what?” stammered the blonde one and he swallowed back her tears. She went from devastated to angry.  _ Really angry.  _ She could tell that Alec was hiding something from her, he wouldn’t tell her why he wanted a divorce? But more than that it hurt, it hurt that Alec wasn’t even prepared to try and save their marriage. Wasn’t it worth it? “Why… this isn’t like you, Alec,” said Lydia. It wasn’t like him to run away from problems and Alec chewed on his lip. Alec was going to tell her the truth. It was finally the time, he knew it. He needed to stop lying, not only to Lydia, but to himself as well and he never actually said those words out loud, it was- “Our marriage isn’t important to you?”

“It’s not like that,” said Alec.

“Is there someone else?” asked Lydia and Alec quickly looked at her, shaking his head.

“No,” said Alec quickly and Lydia pulled back a little bit. She could usually tell when Alec was telling her the truth and she could tell that he was telling her the truth. Deciding to believe Alec, Lydia took a deep breath in and ran her fingers through her usually perfect hair. “It’s been on my mind for a while now, I’ve been too much of a coward to tell you that I c-can’t do this anymore. Lydia, I’m so sorry, but I can’t-”

Lydia needed a while to recover from that. She placed her hands together, closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in. “Have I done something wrong?” asked Lydia and Alec quickly shook his head.

“No, like I said it’s me,” whispered Alec and his heart started hammering harder.

That added fuel to Lydia’s anger and Alec could see that her hands were shaking. Still, she did her best to keep her mind open and her temper under control. “But,” said Lydia and raised her voice too much for her own liking. She pulled back a little bit and decided to try again. “Why don’t you wanna try and save our marriage? It’s been three years, we both put so much into it,” she said and shook his head. “I love you, I don’t understand what happened? I wanna help you, but if you don’t tell me, I-”

“Lydia, I can’t… I’m, I don’t know,” said Alec and his heart leaped up into his throat and he placed his hands together.  _ He was going to tell her, he made a plan. It felt right and yet he was terrified.  _ “You mean a lot to me, I never meant to hurt you, you have to believe me. I hate myself for it, I wish I had more courage sooner. If we-”

“Alec,” said Lydia and cut Alec off in the middle of the sentence.  _ Maybe they could still save this.  _ Was Alec in trouble? She was prepared to help him with anything. “Tell me what happened? It’s okay, I-”

“It’s okay if you hate me,” muttered Alec and Lydia shook his head.

“Never, I would never hate-”

“I,” whispered Alec and Lydia was quickly over at his side and Alec looked up. Lydia placed a hand on top of his shoulder and Alec glanced down. “You deserve more. You deserve someone better, I’m-”

“You’re scaring me. Seriously, what’s the matter?” asked Lydia and Alec huffed under his breath. Alec was scared, Lydia could see it and her anger turned into sadness. “Hey, look at me,” said Lydia softly and Alec looked up. “You’re amazing, don’t put yourself down. It’s-”

“The reason why I want divorce,” stammered Alec and then he closed his eyes.  _ Oh, God. He was terrified, yet he wanted to say it.  _ At least once, for the first time… actually. “Lydia, I’m gay,” said Alec, his voice barely audible and Lydia again needed a while to process it all. 

Lydia was sitting there, slowly processing things and she blinked a few times.  _ Alec was gay?  _ She pressed her lips together and she looked at Alec again. He was nervously tapping with his foot against the floor and he looked pale. He looked nervous as hell, scared. Lydia had never seen Alec so nervous and it broke her heart.  _ Also it explained some of the things that were-  _

Lydia was heartbroken, but she also understood that she wasn’t the only one that was hurting. It couldn’t have been easy on Alec as well and she slowly made a little step closer to him. Alec was prepared to take anything that was coming - yelling, being kicked out… he was ready to deal with all of that. He was the one to propose, he was the one that fucked up. Lydia was strong, slowly leaning down and she placed her hand on top of Alec’s shoulder, who sighed.

“I’m sorry, it’s okay if you never wanna see me again. I’ll pack my-”

“Oh, Alec,” said Lydia, smiling through her tears and she shook her head. “It’ll be okay,” she said. She understood how much courage that took from Alec to come out to her and she gave him a little smile again. 

“I never meant to hurt you, you have to believe me,” said Alec and Lydia nodded slowly.

“I know, Alec,” said Lydia softly. Alec swallowed tickly and he pressed his lips together - Lydia meant what she said? Her hand was resting upon his shoulder and his heart was beating fast. “I understand, Alec, you deserve to be happy. If it’s not with me, then I understand,” she said and Alec felt his heart breaking. She was smiling, but he knew her enough to know that she was hurting as well. 

Alec stood up and wrapped his arms around Lydia, who hugged him back, her arms drawing uneven patterns against his back. It hurt as hell for both parties for the time being, but they were going to get through this.

* * *

Around the same time, Brooklyn’s most famous matchmaker was walking around his apartment and was talking on the phone with another happy customer. “I’m very happy to hear that, darling,” said Magnus and chuckled as the woman on the other side of the phone call was gushing over the date that she just had. The one that Magnus arranged. “I told you she would be perfect for you,” said Magnus and laughed softly. “Aw, you flatter me way too much, but I am happy I managed to find you your match,” said Magnus and smiled. “Yes, of course, you can call again. I’m always happy to hear back. Very well, go have your fun. Bye for now,” said Magnus and ended the phone call. 

Magnus’ smile was bright - it was a good day, a successful date he managed to plan and he huffed under his breath. His smile faltered a little bit. He managed to find other people’s matches, but there wasn’t much happiness for him in that area. Magnus plopped his phone down onto the couch and he walked over to the balcony and took in a deep breath, watching the busy streets underneath and he huffed under his breath.

Being a matchmaker with a failed love life really was… something else. Magnus mumbled something under his breath and stepped inside of his loft again, the smile replaced by a look of sadness.  _ His loft was so empty.  _


	2. Chapter 2

Magnus was standing in line to get some morning coffee. It was Friday, so at least he was going to be getting two days of freedom, which was going to do him amazing. He was feeling kind of worned out, he needed to recharge his batteries…  _ maybe a little vacation wouldn’t hurt him at all.  _ His clients would be able to survive without him for a week or two, Magnus chewing on his lip, placing his order by the barista and he huffed under his breath, checking up the time on his phone and he chewed on his lip. It was still pretty early, his first client was going to come by in an hour or so, so Magnus still had time to go over to his office and he pressed his lips together.  _ Yep, it was going to be another long day before those two days of freedom.  _ But at the same time, he was also excited to see who was coming down to his office that day. He always loved chatting with his new clients and trying to figure them out, to find them someone - their match. Matchmaking really was an art, of sorts. At least to him, but he knew that there were many that kind of laughed at what he did for a living. 

Many people believed that most people those days met online - and it was true, online dating services made a lot of things easier, but Magnus’ business was still flourishing because there were so many people that didn’t like the online approach. They liked meeting people in person and Magnus sighed under his breath, thanking the barista when he was handed his cup of coffee. He paid for his order and then slowly turned around to leave the coffee shop and slowly head over to his office. 

As Magnus stepped through the door, he was welcomed by the cold breeze of the city and he took a deep breath. He slowly made his way down the street, slowly turned over to the side, until he ended up bumping into someone.  _ Luckily, his coffee stayed safe, but he almost lost balance and fell on the floor.  _ It was his own fault, he was completely lost in his own thoughts. Physically he was present there, but mentally he wasn't. In his mind he was already enjoying his very much needed vacation and he grumbled under his breath as he slowly looked up to see to whom he owed an apology.  _ He wasn't in the mood to be apologising though.  _

“I’m sorry, I didn’t pay-”

“Magnus!” piped up a voice and Magnus slowly looked up. Oh, so the individual recognised him! Magnus arched his brow, but when he took another look at them, he could easily recognise him. It was one of his clients… from two or three years ago and Magnus’ smile widened a little bit and he chewed on his lip.  _ Tom, was it?  _ Ah, yes, he was a nice man. He worked at a retail shop. Magnus set him up with a florist, Gretta. The two of them seemed to hit it off right away, but Magnus didn’t really know more than that. Some of his clients kept contact with him and they would end up calling him - mostly when they had to deliver the good news to him.  _ Marriage, starting a family.  _ All the things that Magnus-

“Tom?”

“Yes, it’s me!” said the man happily and Magnus gave him a soft smile. “Ah, it’s been such a long time,” he said and Magnus gave him a little nod. Tom looked happy - that meant that things were going good? Probably.

“Indeed, almost three years. How fast time flies, huh?” asked Magnus and the other nodded. “So, um, how are things with Gretta? Still going strong, I presume?” asked Magnus and the other immediately nodded and then he leaned closer.

“It’s amazing,” said Tom and Magnus could tell that there was something more than that. “We’re getting married, next week!” said Tom happily and Magnus smiled all the way up to his ears, yet at his heart he kind of felt a stab of… it wasn’t jealousy, but it was longing because the more that he got the good news from his clients, the more he wished that it could be him as well. Magnus cleared his throat and then gave the other a little wink.

“That’s amazing,” said Magnus and waggled his eyebrows. “I’m so happy for the two of you,” said Magnus and he really meant it.

“Thank you,” said Tom. “This is all because of you.”

“Well, I will take the credit,” said Magnus and both of them laughed. “I’m glad it all worked out between the two of you. The first time that you came over to my office, I knew you two were made for each other,” said Magnus. That was perhaps a little bit of a stretch, but it was a little white lie that he told most of his clients anyway. He had the talent to read people pretty well and most of the relationships that he set up worked out anyway. Magnus sighed happily and then he clicked with his tongue.

“Yeah,” said Tom and then he looked down the street. “Look, I would love to stay here and chat more, but I’m really in a hurry,” said Tom and Magnus gave him a little chuckle and he nodded. 

“It’s a week before the wedding, so of course. You have placed to be at, people to see,” said Magnus and gave him a little wink. Tom nodded and he sighed happily.

“Thank you, again.”

“No need to mention it, really,” said Magnus and smiled again. “Good luck to the both of you and I wish you a happy ceremony. Seeing what Gretta is able to do with the flowers, I bet it’ll be the wedding of the decade,” said Magnus and Tom laughed and gave him a little nod.

“Very true,” said Tom. The two of them said their goodbyes to each other and Magnus was soon again alone on the street, putting on a brave face and he slowly walked down to his office. It was good, he was happy to hear the good news that Tom had just told him. He was wondering how the two of them were doing - he never forgot any of his clients, so he was glad to find out that things worked out between the two. Magnus clicked with his tongue and he smiled -  _ he wished that he could find someone like that too.  _

* * *

It’s been a bit over a month since Alec finally came out with the truth to Lydia and divorce was slowly in the motion. Alec felt  _ good.  _ He didn’t feel smothered anymore and even if it’s only been Lydia that knew his truth, he felt a lot better. He could be himself around her and it was just liberating. He wished that one day he could have this with all of the people around him, but it was slow steps. The next person that he was going to tell was going to be Izzy, his sister, but he was… still taking the time to gather up the courage. In the meantime, Lydia was  _ amazing.  _

Alec knew that Lydia would have every reason to get upset with him - he did lie to her even if that wasn’t his intention. But she didn’t even once raise her voice at him. He knew that she was hurting - she wasn’t the only one. Maybe Alec didn’t love Lydia in a romantic way, but he did love her as a friend and it hurt him to know that she was hurting. But, things were slowly shifting and moving. Somehow their relationship, their friendship had gotten more solid since Alec came out with the truth and Lydia finally understood everything. There had been doubts in her mind - even if at the back of it - that something wasn’t completely right. Blinded by her love for Alec, she managed to let all of them slip away, but now she was finally faced with the truth and she saw the truth. Honestly, she didn’t feel upset at Alec.

Lydia was hurt, yes. But she also felt for Alec because this couldn’t have been easy for him. Getting married to someone that he didn’t really love and pretend to be someone that he wasn’t. She was glad that he finally felt comfortable in his own skin to let her know the truth. And as for herself - she was going to get through this. She was strong and she didn’t really worry about herself. For the time being, it was just the process of getting adjusted to new life that was awaiting for her.

Alec kind of wanted to move out right away - he kind of got ready for Lydia to kick him out of there, but in the end he was surprised that she allowed him to stay. They bought the apartment  _ together, _ but Alec wouldn’t even fight Lydia on this one if she would one day throw him out. He was still very much of an opinion that this was all of his fault and he was prepared to take the blame. But so far, he was still living together with her.

Their apartment was quite large, they had a guest bedroom, so that was where he had been staying. But otherwise, not many things really changed. They would still prepare their meals together, chat about their days at work, go to work together and all of that. Nobody really knew that they were in the middle of the divorce. Alec didn’t tell his family yet, nor did he tell his friends. He was just… waiting for a right moment, which still wasn’t there - somehow. Maybe it was just himself being a coward, but he couldn’t just jump into it and tell everyone around him.

At the moment Lydia and Alec were in the living room and watching a movie like they usually would on a Friday evening and Alec glanced towards Lydia, who was focused on the movie and he glanced towards the TV again. Lydia was munching on some popcorn and Alec sighed softly.  _ This wasn’t weird, was it?  _ Alec looked again at Lydia, who smiled - ah, something good happened in the movie? He couldn’t focus on the movie at all as he was still trying to deal with how to tell his family; how were they going to react? Izzy was going to be supportive, probably. Jace as well, but his father and mother… Alec wasn’t so sure about. They never really- 

“Want some?” asked Lydia and handed the bowl over to Alec.

“Yeah, um, thanks,” said Alec softly and Lydia glanced at him. She could tell that Alec was again getting lost in his worries - he told her that he worried how his family was going to react and she understood that he wasn’t at a good place. She wished that she could somehow cheer him up - she thought that a movie was going to help, but so far Alec wasn’t really… Also the guilt that Alec was dealing with was also why he was in a bad mood. But Lydia could tell that Alec also felt…  _ free.  _ It was good, it made her happy that he was free.

Lydia expected things to get harder between them, but somehow they didn’t. She didn’t really lose Alec - they were still friends, best friends. And some things were easier, some not so much, but they were getting easier. “How’s the movie?” asked Lydia, trying to see if Alec was paying attention at all, but he just shrugged.

“Fine?”

“Oh, oh, now will be my favourite scene,” said Lydia and pointed to the screen. Alec arched his brow and looked at the TV again.

“Why?”

“Ned takes off his shirt,” said Lydia and her eyes lit up. That caught Alec by surprise and he choked on his breath, his eyes wandering over at the screen and indeed the guy was now shirtless and Alec looked over at Lydia, who was happily watching the screen again. “He’s so hot,” said Lydia and looked at the TV again.  _ Well, yes, yes he was.  _ Alec didn’t know if he should say anything or-

“I guess?”

“You guess?” asked him Lydia in disbelief. “He’s smoking hot,” said Lydia and then winked when she looked at Alec. it was then that Alec understood what she was doing - she was trying to cheer him up and Alec smiled back in response. Maybe she wanted to make him more comfortable in his own skin? Either way, it made Alec smile and he swallowed and focused his eyes on the screen and he slowly nodded again.

“Yep, he’s pretty hot,” said Alec and Lydia chuckled.

“I know right?” she asked and Alec snorted.

“Ah, so this is why this is your favourite movie?” teased Alec.

“It’s the plot I’m interested in, Alec,” said Lydia and Alec arched his brow. “It has deep meaning and-”

“His abs also have deep meaning,” said Alec, feeling his cheeky side slowly kicking out again and Lydia snorted, but then how could she disagree with him on that one?

“By the angel, yes,” said Lydia. “Ned is so hot.”

“Rick is more of my type,” commented Alec and Lydia slowly glanced at him and waggled her eyebrows. Alec huffed under his breath and then he looked over to the screen again.  _ That might had been the first time that he actually expressed what his actual type was.  _ Truth, not what others wanted him to say. 

“Not bad taste at all,” said Lydia and Alec bit his lip.

“That’s the first time I, um,” said Alec and Lydia glanced at him. “Actually said it out loud, my type. You know, being attracted to guys,” said Alec. “Thank you.”

“Oh, Alec,” said Lydia and wrapped her arm around Alec’s shoulder and she pulled him closer. “How does it feel?”

“To finally not hide who I am?” asked Alec and Lydia gave him a little nod. “Pretty good.”

“I’m glad.”

“I,” said Alec and Lydia hummed along. “How are you? Y-you’ve been amazing and supportive, but I know this couldn’t have been easy on you too and, well… It doesn’t seem fair to me that I’m-”

“Alec, I’ll be fine,” said Lydia. The questionable look on Alec’s face made her sigh and she shook her head. “I thought it’d be harder,” said Lydia. “But at least for now,” said Lydia. “This works,” she said and Alec gave her a little smile and chewed on his lip, pressing his lips together in the end and he hummed. “I’m glad you told me. I knew there was something. I kind of… maybe I even knew, I don’t know. I chose to ignore that something was wrong,” hse said. “But I could tell that there was something holding you back from being happy,” said Lydia and Alec felt himself getting a little bit choked up.

“I… yeah,” said Alec and shrugged. “I’m really glad that you’re so supportive about it. I’m really glad to have you,” said Alec and Lydia gave him a little wink and a nod.

“And I’m lucky to have you,” said Lydia and gave Alec a bright smile. “I’m glad we can remain friends like so. Doesn’t matter if married or not, you know? I just don’t want to lose you,” said Lydia and Alec gave her a little nod because he felt the same. He was glad that she was so understanding. 

“And if-if at any point it gets too much… having me around here, I will move out,” said Alec quickly. Lydia clicked with her tongue and she shook her head.

“And what am I supposed to do here all alone? Be out of my head with boredom? I think not,” said the blonde one and Alec’s smile was back and he nodded. Right, he needed to stop bringing down the mood constantly. Lydia said that she was fine, so that meant that she was fine. Lydia always told him when things weren’t how they were supposed to do so if she didn’t like this arrangement then she would have said something from the get go. Alec sighed and then leaned back against the couch.

“I still don’t know how to break the news to my family,” said Alec and shook his head. “Jace and Izzy will be probably understanding, but my parents… my father especially, I don’t know how they’ll take the news,” said Alec and chewed on his lip. “I promise to tell them as soon as possible, I just-”

“Your parents are loving people, Alec,” said Lydia. “Besides, what matters is that you’re happy, right?” asked Lydia and Alec slowly nodded. Yes, that was very true. Lydia gave him a little smile and she sighed, glancing towards the TV again. 

“Yeah.”

Alec closed his eyes and then took in a deep breath.  _ He was happier, not quite happy but… happier.  _ So, that was a start, he guessed. Maybe soon he would meet the one - but…  _ how to find the one?! _


	3. Chapter 3

“Iz, there’s something I wanna tell you,” said Alec. It’s been a month and a couple of weeks since he and Lydia decided to get a divorce and he finally decided that he was ready to tell _someone_ about it. Isabelle, his sister, was visiting their place that day so he decided to tell her the news. Lydia was at the moment out with her friends, hanging out, which gave Alec the perfect opportunity to tell his sister about it. He told Lydia, of course, that he was going to tell Izzy about the divorce and she offered to be there with him, but Alec decided that it was something that he had to do on his own. He was nervous as hell, but at the same time this was his sister and he knew that he could tell her everything and anything. She was the one that knew his deepest and most embarrassing secrets when they were little, so he did trust her. A lot. 

Izzy didn’t really get what was happening. She was sitting over in the dining room, sipping on the coffee that Alec had made for them before, just checking her social media when her brother sat on the opposite side of the table and she slowly placed her phone down and placed her hands together on top of the desk and she cocked her head to the side. Alec looked like he had something serious to tell her, so she was going to listen. Of course. They haven’t seen each other in a bit, so it was only normal that they had some catching up to do.

”What’s up?” asked Izzy happily and Alec pressed his lips together.

“Something happened,” mumbled Alec and Izzy arched her brow and she cocked her head to the side. Was it a good or bad thing? Alec looked nervous, but she couldn’t tell if he was nervous in a good or bad way. Izzy nodded again and then waited for Alec to say something, but the other was quiet. For quite a while. Alec just didn’t know how to bring up the news. This was supposed to be just a little hang out with him and his sister, but he was going to change it - it was going to become much more serious. And after he would tell her about the divorce he knew what kind of a question was going to come first - _why?_ Alec wasn’t so sure if he was ready to tell his sister why, he just wanted to tell her that it was happening.

Alec’s heart was pounding against his ribcage and because he wasn’t saying much, Izzy decided that it was time to give Alec a little push. If Alec was stalling then it wasn’t _good_ news. “What happened, Alec?” asked Izzy softly and the other chewed on his lip. Ugh, how was he supposed to tell her that he was- “Alec?” asked Izzy again and Alec rubbed his palms together and then decided that he was just going to rip off the bandage and tell her! He was an adult, for God’s sake!

“Lydia and I,” said Alec and Izzy nodded, but then Alec’s voice trailed off. What was up with him and Lydia? They seemed happy, no? Though Izzy had her doubts about the marriage, way before Alec even proposed, she thought that Alec… Izzy huffed under her breath. Was Lydia pregnant? Izzy’s heart skipped a beat and she looked over to Alec, whose face was pale. No, it wouldn’t be like this. Alec would be happy about the news… no? He always wanted to be a father, he was great with kids and- “Divorce,” he finally said and Izzy’s eyes widened. Alec finally plucked up the courage and then he decided that it was- “Divorce, Lydia and I are getting a divorce,” he finally said and Izzy covered her mouth with her hands.

That news came out of nowhere and Izzy needed a little while to process it all. But why? That was the first thing that came to her mind - they did look quite happy, though Alec didn’t really talk about his marriage out in the open. He and Lydia were pretty private about their things, so maybe something was wrong for a while. _Or maybe Izzy’s sixth sense was right._ Izzy swallowed thickly and she slowly nodded, Alec looking at her because he needed to know what kind of a reaction he was going to get. Izzy was thinking about it for a little while, but then she nodded again and opened her mouth.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” asked Alec and Izzy nodded.

“I mean… yes,” said Izzy and Alec arched his brow. “I do have questions about it. I mean quite a lot of them but I don’t know if I should ask them or… not?” asked Izzy and Alec glanced down. Well, that really depended on what those were. Alec was again nervous, his heart leaping up to his throat and he chewed on his lip. “Is it okay if I ask some things?” she asked and Alec nodded because of course it was okay. He knew that the questions were coming. What he didn’t know, however, was if he was ready to answer all of them. 

“Of course,” said Alec slowly and Izzy gave him a little nod.

“You don’t have to answer if it’s too private,” said Izzy and Alec nodded. “Since when?” asked Izzy and Alec looked at her. “I mean you two seemed happy together, no?” she asked and Alec shrugged, but then he nodded. “When did you two decide to get a divorce? It’s still new or has this been going on for a while?” she asked because she knew that Alec had the tendency to keep things to himself until they were done. Or until he couldn’t hold back anymore and Alec huffed under his breath.

“A bit over a month ago,” said Alec and Izzy nodded. _Okay, so it’s been going on for a while now._ “I mean we’re in the middle of it all now,” said Alec and Izzy was holding in her breath. “I haven’t really told anyone about it, you’re the first one to be honest and I would appreciate it if you would keep it to yourself for now,” said Alec. “I will tell others when the time comes,” said Alec and Izzy pressed her lips together. Well, she was happy that Alec came to her first, but she was still-

“Thank you for telling me. I won’t tell anyone about it, don’t worry,” said Izzy and Alec gave her a mleek smile. “I,” she said after a while. “I mean the most obvious question is… why?” asked Izzy and Alec huffed under his breath. Of course it was, he knew it but it was still… ugh. “You don’t have to tell me,” she said and Alec was thinking about it, hard. His foot was nervously tapping against the floor, his heart was racing, palms sweating. “She… she didn’t hurt you, right?” asked Izzy, her protective side coming out. She liked Lydia, they were friends, but if she tried to hurt her brother, then she was going to lash out. With everything she had!

“No,” said Alec quickly and Izzy was glad to hear that. “I’m the one who brought it up,” said Alec and then puffed his cheeks. “It’s just… I wasn’t happy,” he said and Izzy was carefully listening to Alec. “I mean,” he said and then shook his head. “It was fine for a little while. Then it got hard to keep up this image of a perfect and happy marriage when I wasn’t really,” he said, his voice shaking hard. “In-in love,” finally said Alec and Izzy pressed her lips together. “I love Lydia like a friend, but I’m not in love with her and-and I decided that it was enough. She deserves someone better and I also… I mean, it was a mutual agreement. We didn’t fight, she’s been amazing and supportive to me,” said Alec and then shook his head. “I-”

“Oh, Alec,” said Izzy softly. It hurt her knowing that Alec was going through this alone for such a long time. “Well, if you feel like this is the correct step then of course it makes sense,” said Izzy and Alec nodded slowly. “I’m glad you and Lydia are still friends,” she said and Alec smiled, barely, but the smile was there. “You deserve to be happy. You both do,” said Izzy and Alec nodded again. He was glad that Izzy was being so understanding. Silence fell between the two of them and she could tell that there was something else to the whole situation. Something that Alec wanted to tell her. “Is there something else you want to tell me?” asked Izzy painfully slowly and Alec nodded.

_Crap, why did he nod, he didn’t even know if he was ready!_

“Well, yes, there’s actually, um, more,” said Alec and Izzy was holding in her breath. Deep down she knew what he was going to tell her. Maybe, she wasn’t sure, but she wanted Alec to feel ready to tell her what was on his mind. A part of Alec wanted to back away because he was nervous as hell, but there was another part of him that knew that an opportunity like that wasn’t going to come again any time soon. He was going to need a lot of time to open up like this to Izzy again and he huffed under his breath. “I mean another, real reason why Lydia and I are getting a divorce,” said Alec and Izzy nodded softly and reached over the table and placed her hand on top of Alec’s hand.

“Yes?”

“I’ve been struggling with this for years. I mean I always knew-knew that I didn’t… that I wasn’t into,” said Alec and then he glanced down and he puffed his cheeks. “Ugh, why is this so hard?” he asked. He didn’t expect Izzy to answer him, it was more of a question that he had for the universe. He didn’t get why it was hard to tell people. It was- Alec then bit down onto his lip and then brought his gaze up again with Izzy’s, who was patiently waiting for him to say something. That brought a little smile to Alec’s face - _he was ready._ There was nothing that he should be afraid to tell Izzy. She was amazing and was going to be supportive!

“Alec, it’s okay,” said Izzy. “You don’t have to be scared to tell me anything,” said Izzy and Alec gave her a little smile. _So, it was finally happening._ What she had on her mind for a while now. It never sat well with her and Alec got married to Lydia, but she felt like it wasn’t her place to butt in. She was always known to butt in too much, but maybe that was the only time that she could have actually- 

“The thing is,” said Alec and Izzy smiled again. “I did love Lydia, but it was always like a friend,” said Alec, his heart again pounding and Izzy nodded. “But-but it wasn’t like _that._ It was only… ugh,” said Alec and then puffed his cheeks. It killed Izzy to see Alec struggle so much. “The reason why we’re getting a divorce is because I’m into… guys, I like men,” he finally said and then closed his eyes. The only thing that Alec could hear was the sound of his heart pounding, the blood rushing through his veins and he tried to somehow make himself smaller than he was, which was kind of impossible. He was a giant, yet he felt so small and before he managed to open his eyes he felt Izzy’s arms going around him.

Izzy knew, she always knew that Alec was hiding something and she had a hunch that it was this. And she was happy that he finally came out to her, of course she wasn’t going to tell anyone. This was ALec’s thing to do and she was never going to do anything that would compromise his happiness. The only thing that she was going to do was continue being the supportive little sister that Alec loved and deserved.

* * *

Magnus was having the shittiest day ever. It was way too long, he was on his way home and on his way home he decided to stop by the flower shop. Why? Because he wanted a flower, he wanted… _something_ that would love him. A flower was a way to go, at least there would be something happy in his apartment. Usually he wasn’t so down, but that day was just the shittiest day ever. He couldn’t wait to be back over at his loft with a flower. That sounded so stupid and Magnus knew it, but he didn’t care. Flowers didn’t suck like people did, for example. Flowers listened to you and when you needed a talk, they would talk to you. Somehow. In silence. Perfect, a flower was going to be his best friend from that point on. 

Magnus was grumbling under his breath. It was tiring to be always in a good mood for the company. Ugh, all sucked, actually. Magnus was fuming with anger as he was walking among the people on the busy streets of New York, but his mood was a little bit better when he finally stepped over to a flower shop and didn’t even hesitate to step in. And unlike the commotion outside, it was nice in there. It felt warm and friendly. The walls were painted in a warm beige colour, it made his heart… calm down a little bit and he rubbed his palms together and looked around the place. 

The store was pretty packed with people, but Magnus liked it. He would have peace to look for the flower that he wanted and not be bombarded by the person working in there. _And he knew they were there to help the customers._ He usually liked when they would try to show him new things in stores or try to give him suggestions, but now he just wanted peace and quiet. And luckily that was what he got! Magnus’ mood was a lot better as he was slowly walking around the store. 

Magnus was browsing for a little while when he finally found _the_ one, the prettiest flower in the store and it was a big, purple and pink orchid that he felt drawn to. Magnus happily smiled and then slowly strolled over to the other side of the store. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad day after all. Magnus was about to pick it up but just as he got there, someone else dared to pick it up as well and Magnus’ soul quickly darkened and the bad mood was back. Again. It wasn’t his day at all. The person who picked it up was a giant. Magnus himself was tall, but this one was even taller than him and Magnus wrinkled his nose. _The audacity, it was his orchid!_

“Hey, that’s mine,” grumbled Magnus and tapped the guy’s shoulder. He was going to give him a piece of his mind. He knew that it wasn’t the guy’s fault, but everything sucked and he wasn’t going to let him take _his_ flower. “I saw it first so give it back, orchid thief,” said Magnus angrily and startled the other one, who turned around to face him. Magnus’ mouth was open to say something else, but the words were suddenly stuck when he saw that… _oh, no, he was hot._ How was he supposed to yell at him now?! Well. Maybe it wasn’t a bad day after all. A little bit of eye candy was actually going to lift his spirit up. Tall, dark and handsome. Pretty hazel eyes. Tall as hell.

“I’m sorry?” asked the other and Magnus’s eyes widened. His voice was soft, yet deep and- 

Alec was taken back a little bit when he suddenly felt someone talking to him. He and Lydia went out to buy some flowers to make their apartment… livelier. It needed something, a little bit of colour - at least that was what Lydia claimed, so Alec decided to go with her. He didn’t really know anything about flowers, but he saw the pretty purple one and he decided that it would look in their dining room. Probably, he didn’t really know. But when he was suddenly approached by a guy, who claimed that he stole his flower… Alec was taken aback a little bit. Alec wanted to turn around and explain to him that it was just a misunderstanding, but then their eyes locked and Alec _froze._

Holy hell, the other was so handsome. It was his eyes that was what Alec noticed the first, they had a special sparkle in them. It wasn’t just the makeup, but that was pretty too. He was a bit shorter than him and so damn captivating. Hair spiked up, wearing a dark coat and Alec gulped. Oh, this guy was totally his type. His throat was dry and Alec wanted to say something, but he couldn’t think of anything, his brain was mush. It was like the time suddenly stopped for a split second and in the store were only the two of them, staring at each other. It was Magnus that finally spoke up first and Alec forced himself to look away. 

“I’m sorry,” said Magnus and then smiled. Oh, he didn’t mean to scare the poor guy away, he looked freaked out. “It was a long day,” said Magnus and laughed. “So I’m kind of on edge. We’ve all had those days, huh?” asked Magnus, trying to make small talk. Magnus didn’t really know what he was doing. Flirting with a hot guy in a flower store wasn’t what he had in plan for that day, but there they were.

“Ugh, totally,” forced out Alec and laughed nervously.

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” said Magnus and then chuckled. Maybe he should see if the guy was into guys? At all? Magnus said a little silent prayer before he- “The flower was the prettiest thing in the store, but somehow… I think that I found something even prettier than that,” said Magnus and Alec narrowed his eyes. What could that be?

“Oh,” said Alec and looked around. “Yes, there’s other pretty flowers, I agree.”

_Ugh, no, not the flowers… it’s you, you idiot!_

Magnus huffed. “Hmm yes,” said Magnus and then glanced at the orchid that Alec placed back into its place. “Well you certainly have a good taste in flowers,” said Magnus and Alec perked up and he looked over to the flower that he placed back to its place and he arched his brow.

“I do?”

“Mm-hmm,” said Magnus and Alec shuddered. _God, he looked so pretty._ Alec didn’t know what was happening or why the guy was talking to him, but he liked it. He liked talking to him. He made him feel- “Do you come here often?” asked Magnus and cringed. God, he was so bad at hitting on this guy. Magnus decided to blame on the day, it sucked so his flirting sucked as well.

“Oh, not at all,” said Alec. “My first time here,” said Alec shyly.

“Hmm, so we have something in common,” said Magnus, his voice a bit lower and he winked. When Magnus winked, Alec’s cheeks reddened and Magnus definitely noticed that. He was blushing! _Thank you lord, thank you-_

“W-what is that?” stuttered out Alec. Oh, when he was stuttering he was adorable!

“It’s my first time here too,” said Magnus. This was so bad. Oh, how much he hated himself!

“Oh,” said Alec and laughed. _He laughed at his joke, that meant that he was into him… right?_ There was no other way that one would laugh to that cheesy pickup line and Magnus was beyond happy. He cleared his throat. Okay, would be asking for a phone number too much? “I-I mean yes,” said Alec and Magnus smiled.

Magnus was about to ask for a phone number, but then he soon found out that the hot guy wasn’t alone in there and he felt discouraged as soon as he saw a blonde woman stepping closer to him. She was stunning indeed, her big blue eyes, red lipstick and a red dress paired with a black jacket. Magnus pressed his lips together and huffed. _Of course he was taken, all the good ones were!_ “Alec, I’ve found a few flowers over that I think would go amazing with our apartment,” said Lydia and Magnus sighed. Yep, they were together. Pity. Well, at least he had a pretty view to look at! Lydia stopped over at Alec’s side and then she glanced over to the side. Alec made a… friend? A handsome one at that and… _oh?_

Alec was obviously into him. Lydia expected it to hurt - but it didn’t. To see Alec actually look at someone with hearts in his eyes it was… nice to see Alec experience it as well. “Lydia!” piped up Alec and Magnus puffed his cheeks. Well, he was just going to be on his way. “I f-found a flower too.”

“Uh-huh, a flower,” said Lydia and winked. “Who’s your _handsome_ friend?”

Alec started fumbling. It wasn’t like that. Well he was into the guy, but the other would never- “I’ll be on my way,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart fell.

“No, wait, what about your flower?” asked Alec. Magnus chuckled. Okay, why was he still so cute? Lydia was definitely a lucky woman.

“I’ll find another one.”

“No,” said Alec and picked up, giving it to him. “I want you to have it,” said Alec and Magnus’ heart skipped a bit. _No!_ Still, Magnus couldn’t say no and he decided to take it with him. The hot guy wanted him to have to, so why the hell not? Magnus’ heart was _smiling._ Even if the guy was taken, he didn’t really mind it. Still, he brightened his day!

“Thanks,” said Magnus and slowly walked away with the orchid in his hands. As he walked away to pay for the flower, Lydia leaned in. 

“You’re so into him,” whispered Lydia.

“I… shh, he’s still close.”

“Admit it,” she said with a smile.

“Duh, he’s so hot.”

Lydia grinned. “Ask him out?”

Alec’s jaw dropped. Not because he wouldn’t be ready, but because… “There’s no way that someone like him would be into me,” said Alec quietly. “He’s like a 10 and I’m a 5.”

“What?!” asked Lydia and laughed. “Dude, you’re a solid 10 too.”

“Yeah, right, I’m not-”

“Do you want me to go ask him out? I’ll get his number for you,” said Lydia and Alec panicked.

“No, no, no!”

“I was kidding, relax,” said Lydia. “Unless you want. I will,” she said and waggled her eyebrows.

“Too soon,” mumbled Alec.

“Understandable,” she said. 

“I gave him the flower,” said Alec proudly and Lydia laughed loudly, grabbing Magnus’ attention and he glanced towards them and smiled as well. They did look happy together from afar. A happy couple, they looked good together. Magnus sighed and then looked towards the flower. 

“It’s just you and me now,” said Magnus, talking to the flower. Even so, Magnus went back home with a huge smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

“What would your ideal type be, dear?” asked Magnus, the young lady that was sitting on the opposite side of him and she started thinking. She was there for the very first time so Magnus tried poking around to see what kind of people she was into, rubbing his palms together. Somehow he felt really energised that day. He was doing pretty great recently - he wondered what the reason for that might have been and he quickly snapped back to reality when he looked over to the other one and he narrowed his eyes.  _ She didn’t say anything so far, did she?  _ Magnus was kind of spacing out lately more than usual, but this time the thoughts that he had weren’t unpleasant and he huffed under his breath, cocking his head to the side. Sometimes he needed to help them out a little bit and he didn’t mind it too much. The ideal type - that was hard. Because people sometimes didn’t really know what they were looking for. And again, he wasn’t really talking about looks, but more about the personality aspect. 

“I’m not quite sure,” she mumbled and Magnus gave her a little smile and then he nodded. Okay, then he was going to help the woman out a little bit. Maybe he could help her by listing the things that he liked about his ideal type. Magnus rubbed his palms together and then he leaned back against his chair and took a deep breath in. “I’m sorry, I’m really bad at this. I knew that matchmaking wasn’t for me. I’m only here because my friend made me come. She did say that you managed to find her-”

“Relax,” said Magnus and she stopped talking. “It’s not an easy question to answer,” said Magnus and she finally relaxed a little bit. Magnus got where she was coming from - she thought like he was wasting his time. She wasn’t the first one that would think like that, Magnus really was used to it all by then. “I mean what even is an ideal type?” asked Magnus and she perked up. “I mean we can’t only focus on the looks, right? It’s the heart and personality that matters,” said Magnus and she slowly nodded.  _ Yeah that sounded like it made sense.  _

“Yes. I mean I’m looking for someone I could get along with well. That will respect and love me,” she said and Magnus slowly nodded. Okay, that was a start, but it was a pretty generic answer. He would have to get to know her better as well to get more information, but for now he had enough to work with. She seemed like she wanted a serious relationship and that was amazing. She was serious about it and that told him that she wasn’t wasting his time at all.

“Very good,” said Magnus. “We all want someone that would love us, that would make us laugh,” said Magnus and then his mind wandered over to the day when he met the orchid thief in the flower shop.  _ He also made him laugh, he was adorable.  _ Magnus clicked with his tongue and he rolled his eyes. Again, he was thinking about that guy - this was getting ridiculous. “It’s the personality that matters. Sometimes they can be stunning on the outside, but inside they’re nothing but  _ fluff.  _ You know, nothing, like a stuffed animal,” said Magnus and the girl laughed, but nodded.

“Totally.”

“Though it doesn’t hurt if they are beauty and brains,” said Magnus and then hummed along. “Tall, dark, handsome… pretty hazel eyes, I could get behind that,” said Magnus and the other one was a little bit confused - that was oddly specific there, wasn’t it? She didn’t know if he was talking about himself or-

“I’m sorry?”

“Ah, sorry, I’m getting carried away,” mumbled Magnus and cleared his throat.  _ He needed to stay professional!  _ “Anyway,” said Magnus and then tried to calm down his racing heart, but it was impossible.  _ How did such a small encounter manage to make such a profound impact on him?  _ And of course it was always the people that he couldn’t have, how unfair and annoying! “It’s also important that you two have things in common,” said Magnus and the other nodded. “For example both grabbing a pretty orchid flower at the same time means that you have at least something in common,” blurted out Magnus and the girl was again confused.  _ Who was he talking about?  _

“Orchid?”

“Ugh, forget it, please ignore me, I’m not really thinking,” said Magnus and then shook his head, his cheeks feeling warm and he groaned. He was annoyed at himself and at the same time he didn’t understand what was happening. It was literally just a few minutes that they spent together. He didn’t even know his name, though he had a slight memory of the woman calling him by his name, but he didn’t quite catch it. He was too busy eating him with his eyes. “Anyway, what kind of things do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?” asked Magnus and she was back on track.

“Well,” she said and Magnus gave her a little nod. “I like baking,” she said and Magnus slowly nodded. “I work in a small bakery, but I wish to have a bakery of my own one day,” she said and Magnus happily smiled.  _ That was good!  _ “Just a small business, nothing too big,” she said and Magnus wrote it all down.

“That’s very good, said Magnus. “I bet that you’re amazing at what you do, Cindy,” she said and she slowly nodded, but then shrugged.

“I guess.”

“Hey, if you’ve got it, you’ve gotta flaunt it,” said Magnus and winked. “It’s okay to be proud of something you’re good at. Be confident,” he said and she slowly nodded. “What else? I’m pretty sure there’s more to you,” he said and waggled his eyebrows.

Cindy slowly nodded and she felt a lot more confident, slowly telling Magnus more about herself and Magnus was happy with how it all worked out. He knew that it was going to work out and as he was listening to her, he already had a few people that came to his mind that Cindy would be interested in. But what the hell was up with him constantly talking about the Orchid Boy? That was how he named Alec in his mind as he couldn’t really remember his name fully. Ugh, he needed to stop thinking about him!

* * *

“What time do you get off?” asked Lydia. She and Alec were standing on the hallway of their company before each of them was going to head for their own office and Alec glanced towards the clock. They’ve just gotten there and he already wished that the day could be over. Not because he didn’t want to work but because he had a very annoying client coming over that day and he huffed under his breath, massaging his temples and he whined. Lydia gave him a little smile - oh, she knew who was coming. Alec has been complaining for months about her now and she felt bad about it, but the woman was very determined. Lydia wanted to get her off of Alec’s back, but she didn’t want her.  _ She wanted Alec.  _ It meant big bills for ALec, but at the same time… was it really worth it?

“Around five,” mumbled Alec and Lydia nodded. 

“I’ll wait for you, we can go out for dinner or something like that,” she said and winked. Alec whined and then nodded. Yeah, a dinner out sounded more than amazing, actually, because he knew that he really wasn’t going to be in the mood to be cooking after the day that was approaching. 

“Yeah, if I survive her visit,” groaned Alec.

“You can do it, you’re amazing,” she said and waggled her eyebrows.

“I don’t wanna be amazing,” whined Alec again and Lydia started laughing; ah, yes, when Alec got annoyed like this, he got really whiny. Lydia chuckled softly and then she placed her hand on top of Alec’s shoulder and patted it softly. Alec gave Lydia a little smile, but that didn’t really change the fact that his day was going to suck so much.

“You’ll do amazing.”

“What if we run away and hide?” asked Alec and Lydia started laughing. Lately Alec was showing his true colours more around her. It was different that the years that they’ve been married - now he was a lot more relaxed around her and she could tell that this was the real Alec. Before he was holding himself back, but now he was free and she could sense it. Now, Alec wanted to run away and hide from adult life? That was such a mood and Lydia wished that they could actually run away and hide… hmm, but where?

“Where would we run to?” snorted Lydia.

“I don’t know, just run away from adult life and all of the responsibilities that come with it, ugh,” said Alec and Lydia laughed softly and then took Alec’s hand. Perhaps she was going to have to drag him towards his office that day. Alec listened and followed Lydia even though he really didn’t want to and in the end he groaned again because he knew that she was going to soon leave. “Don’t leave me,” whined Alec again and Lydia tried not to laugh too much. Now they were closer to others and she knew that they could hear them. It was a little bit… well, in their eyes they were still technically married and-

“Alec, it’ll be okay,” said Lydia.

“I guess,” said Alec and then gave Lydia a little hug before he decided that it was time to stop being a pouty brat and actually be the adult that he needed to be. Alec sighed, unlocked his office and then stepped inside, sitting down into his chair and he groaned, leaning back and he looked around the place. Tch, his office needed a little make over. The pretty orchid that he saw the other day would look amazing on his desk.  _ Or the guy that he met in the flower shop, he would look even more amazing on his desk.  _ Alec’s cheeks reddened a little bit when he thought about that and he sighed, clicking with his tongue when there was already a knock at the door and he didn’t have the strength, but he still-

“Yes, come in,” said Alec loudly. “If you have to,” he added under his breath and then forced a smile on his face when the door opened, but he felt a lot better when he saw that it was only his friend; Underhill. Ugh, good, he didn’t have to pretend to be happy and in a good mood for him, they were good friends. At least not someone annoying before he would start the day of work. Alec smiled and then huffed under his breath. “Underhill,” said Alec happily. It was really nice to see him, oh, he was so happy that it wasn’t the evil client already.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” asked Underhill and looked around the office, trying to make sure that Alec didn’t have company. And by company he of course meant his wife. He always tried to make sure that he wasn’t interrupting anything. Alec was his friend, but he was also his co-worker and Alec arched his brow and then shook his head. Why would he be interrupting? Alec crossed his legs and then signed Underhill to step inside, the blonde one stepping in and closing the door.

“Not really,” said Alec and shrugged.

“I saw your wife leaving just now,” said Underhill. “So I figured you’d be alone here,” he said and Alec gave him a little nod. “Still going strong you two I see,” said the curly blonde and waggled his eyebrows. Alec quickly glanced up and then he looked away. Should he nod? Should he deny it? Alec didn’t know what to do, so he just shrugged. Underhill was his friend after all, he didn’t mean to lie to him. Besides, he could tell  _ him _ of all people the reason for his divorce that was happening. Alec chewed on his lip and then hummed along.

“I mean it’s fine, nothing-”

“Anyway,” said Underhill and sat on the opposite side of Alec and rubbed his palms together. “I came to check up on you to see how you were doing,” said Underhill and Alec sighed.  _ Because of the client, huh?  _ “I mean You Know Who is coming today,” said Underhill and Alec blocked his ears because he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want to think about it and he didn’t want to hear about it. No! “How are you holding up?” asked Underhill and Alec grumbled.

“Better than ever,” said Alec.

“You look pretty stressed, I mean-”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” said Alec and then waved it off. “Forget about it, it’s fine,” said Alec and then chewed on his lip. “Anyway, what’s up with you? You seem in high spirits,” said Alec and Underhill smiled and shrugged.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” said Underhill and then made a little pause. “Well, something good did happen,” said Underhill after a little while and Alec perked up. “You know how I was trying to get some free off so that I can take a little vacation with Marcel?” asked Underhill and Alec nodded. “Finally got it. In two months I’ll be relaxing on a beach and I will be far away from this office,” said Underhill happily and Alec smiled.

“Ah, that’s amazing,” said Alec. “I’m jealous.”

“You and Lydia can tag along,” said Underhill and shrugged. “I’m sure Marcel wouldn’t mind it,” he said and Alec quickly looked away and Underhill arched his brow. “Or not,” he quickly added because Alec’s reaction kind of surprised him. “It was just a suggestion,” he mumbled and Alec quickly shook his head.

“It’s not like that,” said Alec quickly and Underhill glanced over to him. “It’s just that,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if at the time we’ll still,” he said and then sighed. Alec kind of considered lying to Underhill, but at the same time he couldn’t do that, not to one of his closest friends - especially not to the one that would know exactly what he had been going through. “Look, there’s kind of something that I wanna tell you, but you have to promise me that you’ll keep it a secret, okay?” asked Alec and Underhill gave him a little nod.

“Sure, Alec, what happened?” asked Underhill.

“Lydia and I,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t want to tell the others at the company because rumours spread like fire there. But he knew that Underhill never gossiped and talked behind people’s backs. “We’re in the middle of a divorce,” he finally said, his heart beating fast, but it was easier to tell Underhill. Maybe because it was him or because it really was getting a little bit easier. When he said that Underhill looked shocked. He didn’t expect to hear  _ that _ and he blinked a few times. He heard it right?

“I’m… sorry?”

Alec sighed and then clicked with his tongue. “Y-yeah,” said Alec and then shook his head. “We didn’t tell many people so far,” said Alec. “It’s my fault, we shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place anyway,” said Alec and Underhill pressed his lips together.  _ But just before he saw them laughing and hugging together.  _ Was it all just an act? It didn’t seem so, but maybe- 

“But I saw the two of you before,” said Underhill. “Were you pretending to keep the rumours away or?”

“No,” said Alec and smiled. “We’re really still friends and get along,” said Alec and Underhill cocked his head to the side. Well, he was quite confused. “In fact since I came out and told her that I want a divorce things changed for the better. Somehow we’ve gotten even closer,” said Alec, not really paying attention to what was coming out of his mouth. Underhill pressed his lips and he was slowly processing what Alec had just said. He said that ever since he  _ came out  _ and told her that he wanted a divorce? Came out with the truth why he didn’t want to be married to her or since he literally came out… Underhill was thinking. Hard.

Underhill didn’t want to assume anything, but at the same time that was where his mind went off to first and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well,” said Underhill and he chewed on his lip. “I mean I would have never guessed, I’m glad you told me,” said Underhill. “Here I was, very insensitive about the whole thing. Inviting you and Lydia to join us for vacation,” said Underhill and Alec quickly shook his head. It was just a misunderstanding. Underhill was still curious about it though -  _ what was that about coming out?  _ “Okay, look, this will sound weird, but when you said that you came out,” said Underhill and Alec looked at him.  _ That was when Alec’s heart sped up.  _ “You came out with the truth or you came out- _ came out? _ ” asked Underhill. Alec’s face was paler than usual and Underhill could recognise that look in Alec’s eyes; like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Alec’s heart was hammering hard and he was just… caught off guard because he didn’t expect Underhill to ask him so up front, but then again he knew that this was  _ Underhill.  _ He was a frank person, he- “W-well, um, I, you see,” started Alec and Underhill felt bad that he brought it up. He shouldn’t have. He meant no harm, he thought that Alec would be- “Both?” finally said Alec, not really going into too many details and Underhill slowly nodded and then gave him a little smile. “It’s, um, it’s a long story,” said Alec. _ He didn’t know it could be this easy.  _ “But, yes, I told Lydia t-that I’m gay and now-now things are slowly getting better,” said Alec and slowly looked across the table. 

Underhill was smiling, he knew how hard it was. So he was glad that Alec told him and he appreciated it because it showed that Alec trusted him. It was so brave of him to tell him. “I see,” said Underhill. “Look, I didn’t mean to be so forward about it, I wasn’t really thinking… but I’m glad you told me,” said Underhill. “Feels good, doesn’t it?” asked Underhill and smiled. Alec nodded.

“Yeah,” said Alec. “It feels like I can finally, um, breathe.”

“Exactly,” said Underhill. “Lydia seems supportive.”

“She’s been amazing,” said Alec and Underhill nodded. 

“And it’s about to get even better,” said Underhill and Alec glanced at him. “Now you get to go out and meet hot guys,” said Underhill and Alec rolled his eyes and snorted. “You know if you want to meet your match, I know this guy,” said Underhill and Alec’s jaw dropped. “He’s a matchmaker and he helped me find Marcel. He is-”

“Hold your horses, Theo,” said Alec and laughed. “Too fast, too fast.”

“Right,” said Underhill and laughed. “But if you wanna meet your soulmate, I’ll give you the number of the matchmaker.”

Alec laughed and shook his head.  _ Matchmaker, yeah right.  _ That was so… well, it seemed to work out for his friend, so he wasn’t going to talk shit about it, but still… matchmaking, this wasn’t for him. It was too cheesy, wasn’t it?


	5. Chapter 5

Alec and Lydia were out for the dinner. Friday evenings were kind of a thing that they ate out - it became sort of a tradition that even after the divorce was put in motion didn’t really stop and Alec was happily reading the menu. The two have come to a completely different restaurant; it was a new one in town and they decided to check it out. A lot of people were there and Alec was pretty excited because the menu was freaking huge. He was pretty content with himself, looking over to the other side of the table where Lydia was sitting and reading her own menu. Thought there was something that told Alec that Lydia wasn’t really paying attention to the menu too much. Sure, she was reading it, but she was also looking over to the bar every now and then and Alec finally realised where she was looking.  _ There was a waiter over at the side and he was pretty nice looking.  _ Alec chuckled and then looked down to the menu again because it was obvious that Lydia fancied him. 

Alec looked at Lydia again, who was again staring over at the waiter and Alec snickered.  _ He just had to say something.  _ “See something that you like?” joked Alec and Lydia quickly snapped back to reality, cheeks red as a tomato and she quickly glanced down to the menu and she narrowed her eyes.  _ Oh, she didn’t pick what she would have yet!  _ Lydia pressed her lips together and then she rubbed the back of her neck and she cleared her throat and huffed under her breath. Okay, so she was on the page with all of the salads. Great, at least she was-

“The salads look nice,” commented Lydia and Alec arched his brow.

“Oh?” asked Alec and tried not to laugh too much. “Do they come with a handsome, tall and a redhead waiter at the side?” said Alec and Lydia quickly looked over to him and she then huffed under her breath and she shook her head, but eventually she giggled and Alec grinned all the way up to his ears. It was good to see Lydia like this. The divorce was almost finished by then, they were still living together, their friendship was pretty nice. Everything was going well and Alec was happy to see Lydia finally being into someone even if it was just a waiter. It made him smile.

“Shut up,” said Lydia, trying to deflect the question, but Alec wasn’t really backing down and he leaned closer to her and he waggled his eyebrows, then he looked at the waiter again and he could catch him stealing glances at Lydia.  _ He was, wasn’t he?  _ Alec then looked at the blonde one and she was again trying not to make it obvious that the two of them were gawking at the poor lad over there. He was starting to get kind of uncomfortable and she just puffed her cheeks and she gently smacked Alec’s hand. “Alec, stop that,” whispered Lydia and Alec finally turned back to her.

“You should totally go for it,” said Alec and Lydia rolled her eyes.

“Please,” said Lydia and then waved it off. “It’s not like he would ever be into me,” said Lydia and Alec rolled his eyes.

“Of course he would be,” said Alec and then he rubbed his palms together. “I hope he is going to be our waiter,” he said and winked. Lydia snorted and then shook her head again. Alec’s cheeky side was out and kicking again and she loved it. She liked when he was smiling so much and she then puffed her cheeks again and glanced at the waiter, who was now looking at them as well and she quickly looked away.  _ Crap, now they did it!  _ Maybe he was checking out Alec, who knew! Lydia tried to make herself invisible because the man was now coming over to the two of them and she gulped. It seemed like Alec’s wish came true -  _ he was going to be their waiter?  _ Lydia took a deep breath in and then she tried to act normal.

“Hello, have you two decided what you’ll be having today?” asked the man and Alec was now carefully scanning him. Oh, he was easily an eight or a nine. He couldn’t be a ten, though, because a ten was only the man that he met in the flower shop. Now that man was such a-  _ Alec shook his head and then he went back to judging him.  _ He looked nice, posh. Lydia was again trying to act normal, but Alec over there was just gawking at him and she smacked herself over the forehead. 

“What do you, um, recommend?” asked Lydia shyly.

“Well,” said the waiter and gave Lydia the brightest smile ever and Alec grinned. Oh, he was interested in Lydia, huh? Alec was listening to the foods that he was listing and after the two of them have ordered their meal, the man slowly made his way to the back and Alec smiled. The waiter was definitely into Lydia, he didn’t even acknowledge Alec’s presence there, but he was very kind to Lydia.  _ Very  _ kind, always smiling. Alec chuckled and Lydia then groaned when the two were alone again, rolling her eyes.

“Alec, behave,” said Lydia, but smiled soon after that and Alec gave her an innocent look.

“What did I do?”

“Did you really have to stare so much? The poor man was-”

“Flirting with you,” said Alec and Lydia’s cheeks heated up. She quickly glanced down and shrugged. “And you were flirting back, admit it,” he said. Lydia wasn’t really trying to flirt back, but she was just making a conversation with their waiter. It did seem to her like he was really nice to her, maybe a bit too nice if she was just a normal customer, but still. It was still a professional relations - he was their waiter. That was all. Though Lydia wouldn’t really mind if they-

“Well,” said Lydia. “I still have it, it means.”

“Of course, girl,” said Alec and Lydia snorted and looked up.

“Girl?”

“Too much?” asked Alec and Lydia nodded. Alec laughed softly and then he leaned back against the chair and clicked with his tongue. “Thought I’d try it,” said Alec. “I’m not as hip as I think I am,” he said. “I’m still a work in progress,” said Alec and then glanced down to the table. “But it’s good to see you flirt with others,” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows. “You should find someone - go out and date again.”

“Dating is so much work,” whined Lydia. 

“I know, right?”

“But you know what?” asked Lydia and Alec glanced at her.

“Hmm?”

“We’ll soon find someone,” she said and waggled her eyebrows. Alec chuckled and then he sighed. It sure would have been nice to actually have a boyfriend and not only fantasise about having one. Alec pressed his lips together - in this aspect, it was going to be much easier for Lydia. He didn’t even know how to approach a guy, it wasn’t easy for…  _ Alec was so very clueless.  _ Maybe he needed to ask for help, someone. “Because we’re awesome and worth it,” said Lydia and Alec chuckled.

“Yep, it would be nice.”

“Would? It  _ will. _ ”

“I mean,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t even know how to approach a guy. How do you know he’s into guys?” asked Alec. “How does one do that?” he asked and then pressed his lips together. Lydia gave him a little smile and then sighed as well; yep, she knew that it would be much more difficult for Alec. “I mean I could go online, but I don’t like it. I tried it and I deleted the app after a few minutes,” said Alec and wrinkled his nose. He tried the online dating approach, but it didn’t work out. After a few minutes he saw that this wasn’t for him. “I need another approach.”

“Don’t force it and you’ll meet someone,” said Lydia.

“I suppose you’re right,” said Alec, but he was slowly starting to doubt that it was going to work like that. It wasn’t supposed to be this easy even if everyone said that it was. Reality didn’t work like that; he wasn’t going to run into his soulmate randomly on a street. That was only in movies and TV shows. What was on his mind more and more was what Underhill told him - the matchmaker. Alec wanted to laugh at it at first, but then he started thinking about it more seriously and maybe it was a better option. 

Alec didn’t like meeting people online, you never knew what you were getting into. Matchmaking in person was kind of old fashioned and cheesy, but maybe it was…  _ he needed professional help.  _ And Underhill said that he trusted this matchmaker, so maybe he could give it a try. Alec huffed. “What’s your opinion on matchmakers?” asked Alec and Lydia looked over to him and then hummed. 

“Matchmaker?”

“That’s how Underhill met his boyfriend and they seem happy,” said Alec and Lydia nodded.

“Oh, that’s right,” she said. 

“Yeah,” said Alec. “He offered to give me his number, but I’m not so sure,” said Alec and then puffed his cheeks and shrugged. “What do you think? I mean a matchmaker? Sounds kind of… I don’t know. A little bit too much?” asked Alec and then Lydia hummed along as well and then thought about it for a little while. 

“I mean,” said Lydia and shrugged. “I don’t see why not, you could give it a try,” said Lydia and Alec nodded. “You won’t know if it’s a thing for you or not unless you try it, right?” asked Lydia and Alec gave her a little nod and then chewed on his lip. Yeah, she raised a good point and a smile was back on his face.  _ Maybe he would give this matchmaking thing a try.  _ Eventually, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to start dating yet as he wasn’t out to many people yet, but he was working his way up there.

* * *

“Oh, Raphi, you’re no fun,” said Magnus with a pout as he was dragging his friend inside of a restaurant. It was the new restaurant in town and he decided to go out with his friend to check it out. Magnus always liked checking new places out, especially this one. He had heard a lot about it, he was following their social media for months now and he was getting pretty hyped up. There were supposed to be famous cooks there and of course he, Magnus Bane, needed to check it out. He knew that all of the most influential people from New York were going to be there and it was a place for him to be at as well. Unfortunately for him, not many of his friends had the time to go with him on that day there and going alone sucked.

The plan was to invite Catarina, but she was working a double shift that day. Ragnor was also busy with work, so Raphael was the only victim to go with him. Catarina and Ragnor would love to go with him because they were a bit older than Raphael and had more appreciation for the culinary culture of the town. Raphael did cook as well, but he was more… he didn’t like crowds and people and because that was a restaurant that everyone was waiting to be open he knew that there were going to be a lot of people. Magnus did make reservations, but the place was still pretty packed and Raphael was sitting on the chair and was not happy at all. He was waiting for their food to arrive. He was hungry and grumpy.

“Well, what do you want me to do?” whined Raphael when he looked across the table and Magnus pouted. “I’m here, aren’t I?” he asked and Magnus gave him a little nod, crossing his arms on top of his chest and then he chewed on his lip.

“Yes, thank you,” said Magnus and then rubbed his palms together. “This is so exciting,” he said and then took a deep breath in. He couldn’t help to  _ not _ take glances of the food that was served to other people and it looked quite  _ good.  _ Raphael, on the other hand, wasn’t too amused. Yes, the food looked good, but the food was also expensive there, which made sense since it was more…  _ fancy.  _ But still! “C’mon, it’s the opening evening of the restaurant, be more excited,” whined Magnus and Raphael clicked with his tongue.

“ _ Dios _ , Magnus,” said Raphael and laughed under his breath. He wasn’t too annoyed, he was just lost at words - what did Magnus expect him to do? Jump around the place from excitement? Worship the ground that the waiters walked on? “What else am I supposed to do?” asked Raphael and Magnus narrowed his eyes.

“Well, a smile for a start would be better,” said Magnus and the other one clicked with his tongue, but still mustered a little smile. For Magnus’ sake and his own - he knew that if he wouldn’t start having fun then he would never hear the end of it. “Yeah, that’s better,” said Magnus and then he leaned back against the chair and he glanced down because he knew that he was being ridiculous. “Tch, I’m sorry, Raphi,” said Magnus and then he shook his head. “You don’t have to pretend, I know you’re not-”

“It’s fine,” said Raphael and shook his head. “It’s literally just a restaurant, don’t worry too much about it,” said Raphael and Magnus nodded, looking around. He was in a pretty bad mood as well once the excitement wore off and he huffed under his breath as he looked around the restaurant again. The place was packed mostly with couples and he wrinkled his nose, groaning. All of them looked so happy. That wasn’t fair. Raphael narrowed his eyes when he saw that Magnus was looking around. “Now what?”

“Nothing,” said Magnus. “I’m so fucking single,” whined Magnus and Raphael laughed softly.

“That again?”

“ _ Yes, _ ” said Magnus and pointed around. “Look at them, they’re all so happy, how dare they?” asked Magnus and Raphael arched his brow.

“I don’t think they’re all-”

“I don’t care, they look happy. It pisses me off,” said Magnus and Raphael snorted.

“God, I’m a bad influence,” said Raphael. “Look, I’m having fun,” said Raphael. “See, a fancy glass, let’s order some wine,” offered Raphael and Magnus laughed loudly because he could tell that Raphael didn’t want him to be grumpy as well and he could appreciate that. Magnus huffed under his breath and a bottle of wine was soon with them. Maybe wine wasn’t such a bad idea and Magnus didn’t hold himself away from pouring himself a glass… or two.

* * *

Magnus ended up having a good time, thanks to Raphael. The meal was pretty nice too. In the end Raphael was glad that he agreed Magnus to drag him down to the new restaurant - it was nice to go out with his friend once in a while. Magnus was now happily finishing his desert, which was heavenly and he hummed along. “That’s so fucking good,” moaned out Magnus and Raphael just nodded. 

Magnus hummed along and then he looked around the place, his eyes scanning for the toilet and he hummed along, but then perked up when he finally managed to locate it and he glanced towards Raphael. He excused himself from the table and quickly waltzed over to the side. Just as he was about to go inside of the bathroom, the door of it suddenly opened and the person nearly ended up smacking Magnus right into the nose. Magnus jumped back and he yelped a little bit.  _ How dared they?!  _

“Hey, watch where you’re-” started ranting Magnus, but then his voice trailed off when he saw that…  _ no, it couldn’t be!  _ Just what were the chances? Magnus had thought about running into Orchid Boy, but it actually happened this time! The one that nearly ended up hitting him right into his nose was no one else than  _ Orchin Boy.  _ Magnus gulped and he pressed his lips together. Oh, this was awkward, wasn’t it? “Orchid Boy!” piped up Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped when he saw Magnus standing right there.

Oh, boy!

And to make the whole situation worse he nearly hit him with the door. He managed to see Mangus jumping over to the side and he felt his throat going dry right away, glancing down. What a crazy coincidence that they ran into each other again. It was kind of a nice surprise, Alec was…  _ his cheeks were probably very red and he was definitely staring.  _ The man that he was crushing on looked super good, he was really just so-

“Oh, it’s you!” said Alec, trying to make it sound like he wasn’t really affected by the encounter and he quickly hurried closer to Magnus, who was now standing at the side, allowing other people to pass through. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there. I didn’t hit you, did I?” asked Alec and Magnus smiled and shook his head.

“Not at all,” said Magnus. “I have quick reflexes, you see.”

“Well, that’s, um, good to know,” said Alec and then tried not to smile too much, but the smile was kind there from the beginning. Just one look at the man and he was smiling.  _ Usually he didn’t really smile, but around him he couldn’t turn off the smiling.  _ “That’s quite,” said Alec and Magnus looked at him. “I mean what a coincidence, huh?” asked Alec and Magnus snorted, nodding.

“Yeah, I’ll say,” said Magnus and then smiled. “But then again we clearly have both good taste,” said Magnus and winked. Alec felt his body heating up again.  _ Oh, no, don’t wink.  _ It was dangerous how much he liked this man. Alec didn’t even know what his name was, he knew nothing about him, but Alec liked him. He wished he could be more courageous to actually ask him out, but there was no way. He was way too nervous, he was just going to end up making a complete fool out of himself. 

“I guess we have one more thing in common,” said Alec, trying to show Magnus that he was interested in him, but it probably wasn’t enough. Of course it wasn’t, it was kind of a pity, but he really- 

“Hmm?”

“I-I mean this place,” said Alec shyly. “Get it? The last time it was the flower shop and flowers and this time-”

“Yeah, I get it,” said Magnus with a smile on his face.  _ Fuck, he was way too adorable.  _ “It’s quite something, isn’t it?” asked Magnus. “I mean the restaurant. Truly top notch,” he said and Alec nodded. 

“Yeah,” said Alec. “Even the toilet is fancy as fuck. You wouldn’t even know it’s a toilet, it looks like a freaking castle,” said Alec and then quickly bit his tongue. Ah, he was saying something strange.  _ What was wrong with him?  _ He needed to impress this guy, somehow, but instead he was talking about how impressive the bathroom was? Alec wanted to disappear, he felt horribly awkward and just…  _ ugh, why couldn’t he be more outgoing?  _ Alec hated everything, he wanted to go back to Lydia and just go home. And when Magnus laughed Alec wanted to cry. 

“Tch, it’s really not fair,” sighed Magnus and then shook his head.  _ What wasn’t fair?  _ That Alec was taken already. Magnus crossed his arms on top of his chest and Alec gave him a confused look. Magnus didn’t know what to do, it was probably to walk away, but he didn’t want to and when Alec realised that Magnus was about to leave, he acted quickly. He wanted to talk a bit more this time.

“How’s the flower?” quickly asked Alec and Magnus turned back to him and he smiled softly.

“Oh, it’s doing fine,” said Magnus.

“I knew it would be happy with you,” said Alec and then nodded. Magnus chuckled. 

“You did?”

“Yeah, you seem like you know how to take care of flowers,” said Alec and chuckled. “I usually end up killing them. If it wasn’t for Lydia, all of them would be dead by now,” said Alec and Magnus laughed softly and then looked around the restaurant. Where was Lydia? Magnus managed to locate her over at the side and she was looking over to the two of them. Her eyes were wide in surprise, but then there was a little grin on her face and Alec could see that she was waggling her eyebrows at him. 

“Oh,” said Magnus and then looked back at Alec. 

“Yeah, you should give me a few pointers on how to keep a flower alive for longer than a month,” said Alec. Magnus laughed again and he leaned against the wall. The guy didn’t even know how adorable he was, did he? Magnus bit his lip and Alec again panicked because he said something weird, did he? He didn’t know how flirting worked, he didn’t know how to fucking flirt with a guy! He was so bad at it, it was like a trainwreck.

“They say talking to them should do the trick,” said Magnus and winked. “Singing too.”

“Oh, I better not sing, it’ll drop dead within a day,” said Alec. 

Magnus’ smile widened. Oh, gosh, Orchid Boy was precious. “Don’t sell yourself short, I’m sure you sound amazing,” said Magnus and Alec shook his head.

“Like a crow.”

Magnus laughed again and then groaned when his phone buzzed and he took it out of his pocket to see who dared to disturb him while he was in the middle of flirting. It was Raphael, telling him to  _ stop flirting, let’s go home.  _ Magnus whined and then turned to Raphael, who didn’t look too impressed and he huffed.

“Something wrong? I promise I won’t sing,” joked Alec and Mangus smiled. 

“My friend needs me,” said Magnus and Alec looked down.

“ _ Oh. _ ”

“Yeah, I have to go,” said Magnus. It was probably a bad idea to ask for a phone number. Magnus had to keep reminding that the guy was off limits, so it was time to get going. “It was fun running into you,” said Magnus and then sighed. “Anyway I should really get going or my friend will never forgive me, it was fun running into you again,” said Magnus and Alec just waved as Magnus left, his eyes glued on him. It wasn’t until Mangus left that Alec smacked himself mentally - why didn’t he-

_ Oh he was definitely going to the matchmaker.  _ He needed to get some dating skills and when he would run into this hot guy for the third time he was finally going to be ready to ask him out.  _ He was going to practice!  _


	6. Chapter 6

Alec locked the door of his office, his heart pounding against his chest because he finally had  _ it.  _ He finally had the phone number of the famous matchmaker that Underhill had told him about and Alec finally plucked up the courage to ask him for his number. A few days later, almost a week after asking Underhill for the phone number, he finally plucked up the courage to call there. It was pathetic, Alec felt pathetic that it took him such a long time, but now he finally gathered the needed courage to make that phone call and he cleared his throat as he was sitting down in front of his desk, looking at the small piece of paper that he had safely tucked away into one of the drawers and then he pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. He thought he was ready, but at the same time he wasn’t so sure anymore. He didn’t know if matchmaking was for him. But he wanted to be ready for the third time that he was going to run into the hot man - the destiny kept bringing them together. At least that was what Alec somehow managed to make himself believe. 

Alec didn’t know anything about the guy, he didn’t even know his name, let alone if he was into guys or if he was single, but it didn’t matter. He still wanted to do this, he wanted to call and get out there to a few dates. Not that there was going to come anything out of it, he just wanted to practice a little bit. He didn’t want to freeze up again the next time that he would see him…  _ if  _ he was ever going to see him. Yes, they were both from New York it seemed, but at the same time the city was large and Alec huffed under his breath and then he nodded. It felt kind of stupid, to be having such high expectations, but still - he needed something to keep him focused on it and then he finally decided that he was ready. He was making that phone call!

Alec picked up his phone and then contemplated a little bit - should he hide his number so that the matchmaker wouldn’t be able to trace him? After thinking about it, he realised that that was really taking things too far and he laughed at himself - he was too paranoid, he knew that and he then just shook his head as if he was trying to shake off all of the worries and then he finally started typing in the phone number of the matchmaker. Oh, he only hoped that he was nice. Underhill vouched for him that he was really patient and a kind man, so Alec had high expectations. He hoped that he wasn’t going to get burned.

Underhill told him that he should call in to make reservations of when he would come there in person, but Alec wasn’t sure if he was ready to make such a big step yet. Honestly, why was he calling then? He didn’t want to waste the guy’s time. Still, he typed in the number and then finally pressed the call button and waited a little bit before he finally brought his phone up to his ear, his heart hammering like crazy. Oh, this was such a bad idea, wasn’t it? If Jace ever found out about this, he would laugh at him…  _ ugh.  _ Alec himself felt stupid!

Maybe he should hang up, it wasn’t going to work out. But before Alec actually managed to pull away from his phone and hang up, the call was already picked up and he jumped.  _ Oh, the other was fast!  _ Alec held in his breath, he didn’t allow himself to breathe, not yet because this was too… ugh, he felt like he was about to pass out. “ _ Hello and welcome to Find Your Match where we make everyone find their match and reach their happily ever after, _ ” said a voice and Alec’s head was spinning. He didn’t even understand the meaning of the words that came out from the other’s mouth, he was too nervous. But he could hear a male voice on the other side of the phone call, this was the right person, wasn’t it? “ _ Thank you for calling. Tell me, how can I be of help? Are you calling to make an appointment? _ ” continued the voice and Alec listened carefully to the voice.

It was somehow… warm. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to trust the man from the moment he first heard his voice. It was familiar, but he didn’t know where to place it. He just had one of those warm voices that you wanted to trust. Alec didn’t even know how he looked, he didn’t know anything about him, yet he felt calm? It was a sort of strange and surreal experience, but he was glad that he could finally calm down. Yes, he calmed down, but he couldn’t focus at all, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. The only thing that was heard from his end was his breathing and when he realised that he quickly pressed his hand upon his lips because…  _ oh, God, now he was going to think that he was a serial killer or some sort of other kind of a creep.  _ Alec’s cheeks reddened and he was about to end the phone call again, but then the other spoke again. 

“ _ Is everything okay over there? _ ” asked the voice, kind of worried. No, he couldn’t be worried. It was a complete stranger, why would a matchmaker care so much about a mere- “ _ Hello, anyone there? Huh, did we get disconnected?”  _ he then asked and Alec heard some soft of a rustling sound, but then the man was back. “ _ No, it seems that we’re still on the line. Can you hear me? _ ” asked the voice and Alec gulped.

Oh, he needed to say something, or he was going to hang up on him. After that, Alec wouldn’t call there again, he would just- “Yes,” finally said Alec, but his voice was trembling. His voice was trembling bad, his cheeks were red and he was gripping on the phone. He couldn’t even recognise his own voice, he was so, so scared and at the same time he was excited because finally he managed to say a sentence, which was a progress.

“ _ Oh, hello there, I couldn’t hear you for a second, _ ” said the matchmaker and Alec gulped. “ _ Well, thank you for calling, _ ” he said and Alec nodded even if he couldn’t see him. “ _ Would you like to make an appointment so that we can discuss in person what you’re looking for? _ ” offered the other kindly and Alec quickly shook his head. Oh, he wasn’t ready for that. Not yet at least, he needed to-

“I’m not ready,” whispered Alec and then held in his breath again - oh, God, he was going to piss him off, wasn’t he? Underhill did say that he was kind and patient, but he was making it impossible. How was he supposed to go on a date with someone when he couldn’t even- “I’m not even sure why I called, this was a bad idea. I’m just wasting your time. I’m sorry, I’ll end the phone call and-”

“ _ Okay, first, take a deep breath in, _ ” said the voice on the other side of the phone call and Alec flinched. Why was he so nice to him? “ _ People don’t usually make a mistake when they call in, _ ” said the other and Alec’s heart was slowly starting to calm down. “ _ First time? _ ” he asked and Alec flushed all the way up to his ears and he then gulped.

“Y-yes.”

“ _ Thought so, nothing to be afraid of, you see, _ ” said Magnus. “ _ I’m just here to help you find your soulmate. Finding your other half is always exciting, but it can also be scary, so I understand where you’re coming from. It’s okay, we’ll take this slow then, _ ” he said and Alec’s heart almost melted. He didn’t deserve this - he didn’t deserve the man to be so kind to him. Alec felt a bit better and then he pressed his lips together. “ _ My name is Magnus and I’m going to be your matchmaker, _ ” he said and Alec nodded. Magnus, good name. It was interesting, not a regular kind of name. It was quite- “ _ You can put your trust in me, I will find you your match, _ ” he promised and Alec’s cheeks reddened.

“A-ah, you’re really sure of-of that, huh?”

“ _ Hey, I rarely get any complaints, _ ” said Magnus and laughed softly.

“I see,” said Alec and smiled a little bit. Maybe he should now tell him a little bit about himself? Alec’s heart was pounding, but still he plucked up enough courage and he- “I’m,” he said and then bit his tongue. Oh, he needed to tell him his name, but at the same time he- “Recently divorced. Well, the divorce is still in progress, but-but it’ll be soon over,” said Alec.

“ _ Oh a divorce, _ ” said Magnus. “ _ Pity it didn’t work out. _ ”

“It’s okay, r-really, we’re still friends, it’s just complicated,” said Alec and then he held in his breath. “A friend of mine gave me your number, he said you’re really good. You, um, you found him his boyfriend and they’re really happy now, so I, um, I decided to also call in and give it a try. But I don’t know how this works, I never really… matchmaking, I mean I don’t even understand what I’m supposed to do.”

“ _ I’m happy that things worked out for your friend, _ ” said Magnus and Alec smiled. “ _ I get that a lot, most people think that matchmaking is silly, _ ” said Magnus and Alec snorted. Yeah, he thought so until not too long ago. “ _ But in reality it’s quite...fun, _ ” said Magnus. “ _ Just be your genuine self and I’ll find someone for you. I can promise you that, _ ” said Magnus and Alec held in his breath.

“Thanks, I guess?”

Magnus laughed and then held in his breath. “ _ So, you said you’re not ready to make an appointment with me in person? _ ” asked Magnus and Alec felt a stab of guilt at his heart. He made it sound like it was the matchmaker’s fault, but in reality it was-

Alec cleared his throat. “It’s complicated.”

“ _ I understand, _ ” said Magnus softly. He wasn’t going to ask him why it was complicated? “ _ Okay, we can talk it through like this and when you feel comfortable enough you can always come by my office, _ ” he said and ALec smiled. Okay, Underhill was right about this guy, he was a saint. “ _ How old are you? _ ”

“Turning 30,” said Alec. 

“ _ Okay, _ ” said Magnus. “ _ What are you looking for in a partner? _ ” he asked slowly and Alec froze up again and then he chewed on his lip, rubbing the back of his neck and then he took a deep breath in. 

“I just want someone that would get me. A good sense of humour, I guess,” said Alec and then puffed his cheeks. “Someone kind and loving,” said Alec. 

“ _ Don’t we all? _ ” asked Magnus and sighed. 

“I’m sorry?”

“ _ Ah, I’m just projecting. Sorry, let’s focus on you, yes, _ ” said Magnus and Alec narrowed his eyes. “ _ What are your preferences? _ ” asked Magnus softly and Alec felt his heart hammering against his ribcage and he glanced down because he didn’t know if-  _ Well, he would have to tell him the truth.  _ Also, it was easier to tell a complete stranger that he was into guys, which was kind of strange, but also it made sense in the end of it all.

“You-you mean if I’m into women or men?” asked Alec shyly.

“ _ Yes, darling, _ ” said Magnus, not really thinking much of it and Alec took a sharp breath in and his grip around the phone tightened. Alec was silent for quite a while - at least it seemed like that for him. The few seconds that he was contemplating what to say dragged forever and because he didn’t say anything, Magnus decided to speak up again. “ _ Everything okay there? _ ” asked Magnus. “ _ I’m sorry I didn’t know it was a touchy subject, you don’t have to tell me it’s fine. I get it, it can be quite- _ ”

“Men,” said Alec quickly after he allowed himself to breathe again. His heart was pounding against his chest so hard that he thought that it was going to jump out. “I-I like men,” said Alec and then he closed his eyes, leaning back against his chair. “Sorry, it’s… I’m still not out to all of the people around me. I’m… baby steps, I am just getting out there and I’m, ugh, nervous a little bit. Does that make sense? I don't know I’m sorry if it’s weird, I just-”

“ _ That makes sense, _ ” said Magnus after a while after Alec stopped talking. “ _ I understand how scary it can be, _ ” said Magnus and Alec nodded even if he was completely alone in the office. The matchmaker couldn’t see him, but he was still- “ _ And it takes time to finally go out there and meet people - I’ve been there, _ ” said Magnus and Alec perked up. Huh? He knew how it- “ _ It’s a big step, are you sure you’re ready? I don’t mean to sound too… ignorant, but- _ ”

“I am ready,” said Alec quickly. Oh, he was so ready. He needed to be ready for his hot guy from the flower shop! “I will be,” said Alec quickly because he didn’t know how fast he’d be ready to go and meet with the matchmaker in person, but he wanted to know that he was serious about it. He needed experience to ask out his crush! He still felt dumb, but still! He needed this. “Please don’t give up on me?” asked Alec with a small voice and the other chuckled. 

“ _ I won’t, _ ” said Magnus. “ _ It’s okay, _ ” he said and Alec smiled. Ah, this Magnus guy had such a calming aura around him; he felt like he could trust him and he was happy that he listened to Underhill. “ _ I guess we’ll just take it slowly then? _ ” he asked and Alec nodded.

“Yes, please.”

“ _ Very well, _ ” said Magnus and Alec chewed on his lip. “ _ No need to be nervous, _ ” he said and Alec took a little hitched breath in. “ _ I promise that thanks to me you’ll meet your soulmate after I’m done with you, _ ” said Magnus and Alec’s smile widened even more. 

“Thank you,” said Alec.

“ _ You say it so shyly, _ ” said Magnus and chuckled.

Alec flushed. Harder than ever, his heart skipping a beat and he shook his head.  _ He wasn’t after the matchmaker, he needed to focus! _

* * *

“Cat, I have a question for you,” said Magnus and Catarina looked over to his friend. Magnus was visiting his friend’s place that day; they ordered take out and were now just chilling. It was a long day and Magnus didn’t really feel like going back home to his empty apartment quite yet. So, dropping by Catarina’s was the best option that he got.

“Yes?”

“Okay this will sound kind of stupid, but do you belive in destiny?” asked Magnus and Catarina chuckled and then she crossed her arms on top of her chest and cocked her head to the side. 

“Hmm,” she said. “Depends,” she said in the end. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well,” said Magnus and then chewed on his lip. “Do you know the cute guy that I met in the flower shop the other day?” asked Magnus and Catarina laughed.  _ He was being serious?  _ The Orchid Boy was all that he talked about as of lately and she then chuckled and then nodded.

“Ah, yes, how could I forget about the Orchid Boy?” asked Catarina and chuckled.

“Yeah.”

“So, what about him this time?” asked Catarina and waggled her eyebrows.

“Well,” said Magnus and clasped his hands together. “We met again,” he said and Catarina’s eyes widened. Oh, when did that happen? She couldn’t believe that he didn’t tell her about it sooner. And now it made sense that he was asking her about density. Meeting once is a coincidence, but the second time…  _ what were the options?  _ Magnus pressed his lips together and he tried not to be too excited, but he couldn’t  _ not _ be. 

“No wy!” she said and Magnus nodded.

“I know right?!”

“Where did the two of you meet this time?”

“You know the restaurant that I went with Raphi the other day,” said Magnus and Catarina’s eyes widened and she nodded. “Well, we ran into each other there. I mean what are the chances, right? And we again talked a little bit,” said Magnus and then puffed his cheeks. “Not fair,” said Magnus and then sighed. “He’s so freaking adorable. Why is he taken, Cat? Ugh,“ said Magnus, but was smiling all the way and Catarina clicked with her tongue. 

“Oh, he did mention you flirting with a guy!”

“Yes,” said Magnus and waggled his eyebrows. “Well, we weren't really flirting. We were just talking,” said Magnus. “I wish it was flirting, poor me,” said Magnus and then sighed. 

“Ugh, I wish I was there to see him,” whined Catarina. “Stupid job,” grumbled Catarina and then made a little pause. “But meeting like this again - what are the chances?” asked Catarina and Magnus nodded. 

“I know, right?!”

“Could be destiny,” said Catarina and Magnus whined and leaned against the couch.

“I wish he was single,” said Magnus and pouted. “But well, what can I do?” asked Magnus and then looked down to his plate of food and shrugged it off. “It’s fine. I still have the flower he gave me to remember him.”

“Do you know he’s taken?” aske Catarina. “I mean are you really sure?”

“I mean they seemed close - he and Lydia,” said Magnus.

“Ah-ha! So you don’t know!”

“Sure, but-”

“So they could be friends,” said Catarina and Magnus pressed his lips together. 

“I mean yes, but-”

“So he could be single.”

“Cat. Don’t make me get my hopes up.”

“Magnus, listen to me, you need… you’ve met twice now, it has to mean something!” said Catarina and Magnus clicked with his tongue and then he leaned against the couch again and in the end he nodded. Yeah, it needed to mean something. Magnus wasn’t one to believe in destiny too much, but now…  _ they met twice.  _ And he wished they could meet again!


	7. Chapter 7

“Ugh a divorce?” asked Jace, sipping on the beer bottle and he looked over to Alec, who gave him a little nod and he then rubbed the back of his neck. The two were having guys’ evening out and they were supposed to be having fun. Their guys’ evenings out were some sort of a tradition, but it’s been a while since the two have gotten out like this. Jace expected to have fun, but he didn’t expect his older brother to sprinkle something so heavy onto him and he honestly didn’t know how to respond. He had no idea that Alec and Lydia had gotten a divorce. Alec never said anything - the two of them seemed happy. They still lived together, so Jace was very confused as to why the divorce was happening and Alec pressed his lips together. The divorce was already finalised and he decided that it was finally the time to tell the others about it. Lydia really was a saint that she didn’t say anything to the other people - she did mention to her family and friends, of course, but she didn’t tell the reason why. Alec was still working on that - he was a work in progress.

“Yep,” said Alec, his heart hammering against his ribcage and then he puffed his cheeks. “I mean it’s already done. We’ve gotten officially divorced yesterday,” said Alec and then he chewed on his lip. It was a weird feeling, really. It was finally all done the day before and he and Lydia went out for a meal to… celebrate. It was really an odd feeling, yet it was kind of good. Alec finally felt… free and so did Lydia. “So, it’s done,” he said and Jace puffed his cheeks together and then crossed his arms on top of his chest and then he shook his head. So, this has been going on for a while now and Alec didn’t tell him anything? He thought that this was recent, but from what he could see it was-

“I,” said Jace because he really wasn’t good with words. He didn’t know how to handle serious conversations, especially not with Alec. They weren’t really known to talk things out, they just sort of avoided it. Usually, but now it seemed that they would have to have a serious talk and Jace was struggling. “So this has been going on for a bit now, huh?” asked Jace and Alec could sense that Jace was a little bit hurt by that. That was fair, Alec kind of expected it, anyway. Alec then rubbed his palms together and then he held in his breath for a little while before he spoke up again.

“Yeah,” said Alec and then he went quiet again.

“Man, I wish you’ve told me about this sooner,” said Jace and then he cleared his throat. “Do dad and mom know?” asked Jace and Alec shook his head and then he huffed under his breath.  _ Okay, so he wasn’t the last one to know about it.  _ “Izzy probably knows though, right?” asked Jace and Alec gave him a little nod and Jace felt his heart sinking a little bit. He didn’t like being left out. He knew that Alec found it easier to go and tell things to Izzy, but still - he wished he wasn’t always the second choice and Alec rubbed the back of his neck.

“I wanted to tell you sooner, I promise,” said Alec. “But-”

“You didn’t. No, it’s fine, I get it,” said Jace and still sounded offended, which kind of pissed Alec off as this wasn’t about Jace, but it was about  _ him. _ Still, Jace didn’t know the real reason behind the divorce and he wondered if he would actually understand why it was so hard for him to come out and tell people. Jace was kind of complicated, Alec couldn’t always tell what he was thinking and he just pressed his lips together. 

“Look, man, this isn’t exactly easy for me either,” said Alec and Jace glanced up at him and then he nodded, realising that he was being a little bit too selfish. “It’s really complicated,” said Alec, who wasn’t so sure if he was ready to come out to Jace. It depended, really. Jace wasn’t an asshole, he knew that he would be supportive of him, but still. Jace could be really thick headed sometimes and Alec was struggling with the decision. He felt ready when he came out to Izzy and Lydia, for example. But with Jace he wasn’t so sure. There was something that was still holding him back and he didn’t know what to-

“I know, I’m sorry for being a dick,” said Jace in the end and then placed his beer bottle down onto the table and then he clicked with his tongue. “Man, that’s weird. You and Lydia were always considered as relationship goals,” commented Jace and Alec laughed and then rolled his eyes, but then he nodded. Yeah, that was right, everyone was calling them that, but it wasn’t really true it was-

“Things weren’t as they seemed, Jace.”

“I see that now,” said Jace, trying his best to understand Alec. “I mean,” he said and Alec glanced at his brother. “You two are still living together, right?” asked Jace and Alec slowly nodded.

“Yes?”

“Isn’t that weird?” asked Jace and Alec arched his brow. “I mean you two are now separated, yet you still live together. Doesn’t that make things awkward?” asked Jace and Alec held in his breath and then he shook his head.

“Not really, I mean we didn’t have a fight or anything like that. We just came to a mutual agreement that a divorce would be a better option for the two of us,” said Alec, still avoiding telling the reason for it. “We’re still friends… at this point we’re roommates,” said Alec and smiled. “Not much really changed and Lydia is really great about it. I mean she never complained, she was always so supportive of me and all,” said Alec and Jace nodded, but still he didn’t-

“Why the divorce then?” asked Jace. “If you two didn’t have a falling out or-”

“It’s difficult,” said Alec.

“Did you cheat?” asked Jace and Alec gave him an offended look.

“I can’t believe you went there. No, I didn’t,” grumbled Alec because he thought Jace understood how much he disliked cheating and Jace then hummed along. 

“Did she-”

“Jace. No. Nobody cheated,” hissed Alec, getting a little bit frustrated and Jace lifted his hands up.

“Okay, chill, dude, I didn’t mean to press a nerve, I was merely just asking because I don’t understand,” said Jace. “You two didn’t fight, you two still live together so not much changed,” he said and then shook his head. “Why the divorce if you two are still happy with each other? I mean it doesn’t make any sense.”

“Ugh. You don’t get it,” said Alec.

“Do you not love Lydia anymore?” asked Jace and cocked his head to the side. “She’s hot, she’s smart and funny - she’s like the perfect wife,” said Jace and Alec was getting pissed off again because there was no way that Jace would understand it. Yeah, he so wasn’t telling him the real reason why he got the divorce.

“I love Lydia, I’m just not  _ in  _ love with her,” said Alec and Jace knitted his eyebrows together.

“I don’t get it,” he said in the end and Alec groaned, buried his face into his palms and then shook his head. 

“It’s fine, just,” said Alec and then huffed under his breath. “Don’t tell mom and dad, okay? I will tell them… soon, I hope,” said Alec and the blonde one slowly nodded. Jace was still so confused - he didn’t understand why Alec wouldn’t tell him what was the reason for the divorce. Nothing made sense to him. But, he respected Alec’s wish and he wasn’t going to tell Maryse or Robert about the divorce, though he really wished that Alec was soon going to say something. “Thanks,” he said in the end and Jace nodded again. “They wouldn’t understand it,” he carried on and Jace pressed his lips together.

Whatever it was, it had to be serious. Alec wouldn’t just call off his marriage over nothing, he was always trying to make it work with Lydia. Jace wasn’t going to ask any more questions because he could tell that Alec wasn’t in the mood. And because of that he decided to cheer Alec up with striking up a little bit of a different conversation. “Anyway,” said Jace and Alec looked over to him. “You’re a free man now, right?” he asked and Alec arched his brow.

“I guess?” asked Alec. “Why?”

“It’s nice to be free,” said Jace and waggled his eyebrows. “Ah, yes, I can still remember those days clearly,” said Jace and Alec rolled his eyes.  _ So could he, unfortunately. The two of them were roommates and it was… ugh.  _ “But now I have settled down,” he said and Alec smiled a little bit. With a girl named Clary. She was nice. “But I still have the moves,” he said and waggled his eyebrows. Alec arched his brow - he didn’t like where this was leading to. “I’ll help you get someone hot, you’ll soon forget-”

“Oh my God, Jace please stop talking,” whined Alec and placed his hands on top of his ears.  _ If he only knew why he got the divorce, he wouldn’t be spewing out this nonsense.  _ Alec knew Jace was trying to cheer him up, but he wasn’t really helping either. Alec was now prepared even  _ less _ to come out to his brother and he grumbled under his breath. Jace looked confused and he was again pouting. “I don’t need a rebound, I’m  _ fine, _ ” grumbled Alec, his cheeks burning with anger and embarrassment at the same time.

“I was only trying-”

“I know,” said Alec and then rolled his eyes. “Just let it go, okay?” asked Alec and in the end Jace nodded because he didn’t know what to do or say. Alec was shutting him out and he wasn’t letting him near, Jace felt helpless at that point, so he decided to pull back. He still wished Alec would tell him more. He knew that there was something bothering Alec, that he had something important to share with him, but he couldn’t read mind - Jace didn’t know what was bothering his brother.

* * *

“ _ And do you know what he asked me after that? _ ”

“I have no idea,” said Magnus and had a bright smile on his face. He was sitting in his office, chatting with the… one of his customers. He didn’t even know his name, but he called in again that day. This was the third time that they spoke to each other and Magnus had a lot of sympathy for the man. It seemed like the guy was struggling with coming out. Recently divorced too. It couldn’t have been easy for him and he was now trying to find another shot in love. But the only part that was kind of confusing to Magnus was that he still couldn’t get the guy to come over to his office. He got it, it took time, but at the same time, he couldn’t really arrange a date for the guy like that. He liked meeting his customers in private - it told him that they were being serious. 

Magnus knew that this guy was serious, he was just too scared and that was why he wasn’t going to push it. Also, it was kind of fun chatting away with him over the phone. It gave Magnus the chance to get him to know a little bit better and he was already arranging a date for the guy, there was one in particular that he thought would be perfect for- “Tell me?” asked Magnus in the end after he was reminded that he was still on the phone. 

“ _ He wanted to arrange me a rebound with… I don’t know, he tried to hook me up with one of the women from his ‘book club’ days. Ugh, this is so, _ ” he carried on and Magnus pressed his lips together. The guy called in again that day. He told him that he tried to tell his brother about liking men, but it didn’t work out in his favour. “ _ I don’t know, it’s too difficult. I didn’t tell him in the end. He didn’t get it at all anyway, he’s too thick headed, _ ” said Alec in the end and Magnus chewed on his lip.

Talking to him came natural. Magnus felt like he could talk to him freely, it was so confusing. They didn’t even meet in person, yet they talked so naturally. But also - why was he telling him so much? Maybe they were getting too close, Magnus was still supposed to- “I get it, it’s not easy,” said Magnus in the end and then he chewed on his lip. “You have to have some faith in you. He’s your brother, he will come around eventually,” said Magnus and then he made another pause. He didn’t- “You have to take a leap of faith sometimes. I know it’s terrifying, but sometimes it’s really, really worth it,” said Magnus.

“ _ I know, this just sucks, _ ” said Alec and Magnus rubbed the back of his neck.

“Look, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but,” started Magnus and the guy on the other side of the phone call stopped talking. “Why are you telling me all of this?” asked Magnus and he could feel that the atmosphere was- 

“ _ I’m so sorry, _ ” quickly said the voice on the other side of the phone call. “ _ I don’t know, I… I shouldn’t have, I’m only calling in there for you to arrange a date for me. I didn’t want to dump all of this baggage onto you, it’s stupid, _ ” said Alec. “ _ I’m sorry if you feel like I’m wasting your time. Maybe I really am wasting your time, I’m still not even sure if I’ll ever be ready to come over there- I knew this was a stupid idea. I- _ ”

“Woah, woah, take a deep breath and  _ don’t _ hang up, pelase,” whispered Magnus and he could hear the other one taking in a deep breath. “That… didn’t come out right, I didn’t mean it to sound like that, you’re not bothering me at all, it’s just,” said Magnus and then rubbed the back of his head. “We’ve never met, you literally don’t know me; are you sure you’re okay with me knowing all of this? A complete stranger.”

Magnus could hear the other’s breath and in the end- “ _ Sometimes it’s easier to open up to a complete stranger, _ ” whispered Alec.

“That… is very true,” said Magnus and then bit down onto his lip. He raised a very good point, but if they would talk about such personal things… it wasn’t unlikely, some of his clients really opened up to him, but it would feel a bit more personal if he would know the guy’s name at least. “You still didn’t tell me your name,” mumbled Magnus and he could hear the guy taking in a sharp breath. Really, that was too much for him to tell? Magnus understood the privacy issue but if he-

“ _ Gideon, _ ” said the other in the end.

Magnus smiled. But there was some hesitation in the other’s voice, so it made him wonder if that was really his name. “And that’s your real name?” asked Magnus with a smile on his face.

“ _ Yes, _ ” said the other and then made a little pause. “ _ Well, it’s my middle name, _ ” he then carried on and Magnus chuckled and then huffed under his breath. Well, a middle name was better than nothing. Though the name didn’t really… fit that voice, but still. It was something. “ _ Is that okay? _ ”

“Of course, creates extra mystery about you, I like it,” said Magnus and smiled when he heard the other one chuckling. “But, look, Gideon - I wouldn’t worry too much about your brother. You said that your sister was very supportive, right?”

“ _ Yes. _ ”

“Well, there you go. Your brother will probably be very supportive as well,” said Magnus and Alec hummed on the other side of the phone call.

“ _ Brothers are more complicated, _ ” he said.

“Yes?”

“ _ You don’t have any brothers, do you? _ ”

Magnus smiled. “True, I’m an only child. But I do have a friend that is like my younger brother, so to some extent I understand,” said Magnus, who was now thinking about Raphael. “You do have a point, it’s complicated at times,” he said and smiled in the end. Gideon chuckled and Magnus pressed his lips together. His laughter, his giggle - he had heard it somewhere before, right? Or maybe he was imagining things. 

“ _ Oh, must be nice - you can enjoy your peace. _ ”

“Hmm. It’s lonely at times,” said Magnus and giggled. “So,” said Magnus and then tapped with his fingers against the wooden desk. “What should I do with you?” he asked and then hummed along. “Now I know you have a brother and a sister, your middle name is Gideon and you like reading in your free time. And you’re thirty,” said Magnus. “What is that you do?” carried on Magnus and the other hummed along.

“ _ I’m a lawyer. _ ”

“Oh, wow,” said Magnus and grinned. “A lawyer.”

“ _ Why, is there a problem? _ ”

“No I just have a thing for men in suits. That’s the first connection my brain made, I’m so sorry,” said Magnus. “I’ve been single for so long,” he joked and Gideon laughed as well, making Magnus’ smile widen.

“ _ You’re funny. _ ”

“Thank you.”

“ _ Can I confess something? _ ” asked the other after a little while and Magnus smiled. He asked so shyly and carefully. 

“Shoot.”

“ _ I, _ ” whispered Gideon and then cleared his throat. “ _ I will sound like a dick, _ ” he muttered and Magnus pressed his lips together. “ _ I… I didn’t really, um, I mean the only reason why I’d sign up for matchmaking is to get experience with flirting with guys, so-so that I can ask someone out, _ ” mumbled Gideon and Magnus could feel him blushing through the phone. “ _ I didn’t really have intentions of having any serious relationship through this, it was just to get… experience, _ ” he said nad Magnus’s eyes widened a little bit.

Magnus should have been offended. Just a little bit. This would be wasting his time. It was wasting his time, but at the same time… “You’re freaking adorable, Gideon,” said Magnus. “I mean,” he said and laughed. “You wanna practice flirting to ask a guy out?”

“ _ Yes, I get so nervous, I don’t wanna make an ass out of myself. _ ”

Magnus’ mind drifted over to his Orchid Boy and he smiled. “Yeah, I get what you mean,” he said and then licked across his lower lip.

“ _ Are you angry? _ ”

“Nah,” said Magnus. “Usually I’d be, but you’re just so… I don’t know. Innocent. I can’t be angry, I’d feel like a dick if I would be pissed,” said Magnus and Gideon laughed as well. 

“ _ Will you, um, will you help me? _ ” whispered Gideon again, trying to make sure and Magnus’ heart melted because  _ what the fucking hell was…  _

“I promised you, didn’t I?” asked Magnus. “After I’m done with you, you’ll have the happiest relationship ever.”

Alec took a deep breath in on the other side of the phone call and closed his eyes because finally came clean with the truth - it didn’t feel right lying to the man.  _ ALso he was going to help him and he was going to be ready for his hot guy!  _

Arghhhh!!!

Alec was so excited!


	8. Chapter 8

“Your eyes,” tried Alec again and Marcel, who was sitting on the opposite side of him snorted and glanced over to his boyfriend, who was trying not to laugh too much. Marcel brought lunch for Underhill that day as the blonde one was too busy to leave for lunch, but he didn’t mind it too much. Having lunch in his office with his adorable boyfriend was even a better option if he was being completely honest. What he didn’t know was that he was also getting a show that day and he tried not to laugh too much when he watched his friend struggling to… flirt. Well, he wasn’t really flirting with Marcel, he was only trying to see if the things that Magnus had taught him so far were actually any good. Alec tried to sound as smooth as Magnus did over the phone, but it was kind of… impossible. The matchmaker made it sound so easy, but now that he was saying all of things out loud he didn’t understand how someone could say all of that with a straight face. It was impossible. 

“Yes?” asked Marcel. Oh, this was way too much fun. He felt bad for Alec, but at the same time he had to admit it that he was pretty terrible when it came to flirting. Marcel knew Magnus as well, he was the one who introduced Theo to him, but was he really that bad at flirting himself? Or was it this only Alec being too awkward? Poor thing, he was trying his best to be ready when he would meet his mysterious crush. _If_ he was going to meet him. It was a big if, but Alec didn’t seem to care about it. He was pretty sure that they would meet again. If they met twice, it had to mean something. 

“They’re, um,” said Alec and tried to think of something. Honestly, he felt so stupid doing this, but at the same time he wanted to try it out for himself. “Green?” asked Alec and Marcel burst into laughter. Now he was only listing things and he shook his head, pressing his lips together and he folded his arms on top of his chest and arched his brow. Underhill snorted as well and Alec groaned and looked down. Yep, this was too weird, he was never going to be able to ask the hot guy out. If he would happen to run into him again, he would run away, there was no way that he could actually-

“And?” asked Marcel, trying to give Alec another chance and Underhill decided to chime in.

“The prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen. They’re the prettiest colour of green ever,” said Underhill and Alec looked over to his friend. “They sparkle,” he said and Marcel chuckled and felt his cheeks reddening a little bit. Alec wrinkled his nose because he didn’t like how easy those words came for Underhill. Alec was frustrated so he just buried his face into his palms and he shook his head. How could Underhill say all of that so seriously? Alec didn’t get it, but maybe if he would look into his own crush’s eyes then he would be able to just… he didn’t know. Magnus also told him this - that when you met _your_ person, flirting didn’t feel awkward, but only if you forced it. Alec didn’t know, maybe the matchmaker was onto something.

“How can you do that?” groaned Alec and looked at Underhill, who was now stuffing his face with a slice of pizza and he arched his brow.

“What?”

“Say such embarrassing things out loud without cringing at them,” whined Alec and Marcel narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

“It’s not cringy, but sweet and romantic,” said Marcel and then looked over at his boyfriend. “Theo is such a hopeless romantic,” he then said and Alec’s heart sunk. Oh, so then it was only him. Alec glared at the food and decided that he wasn’t in the mood to be eating. He was too busy feeling sorry for himself, anyway. He was sitting on the chair like a little pile of sadness and both Marcel and Underhill felt bad for him.

“I’m broken,” said Alec.

“No you’re not,” said Marcel and rolled his eyes.

“Then what the hell is wrong with me? I can’t flirt for shit, when I meet him again, he will run away when I’ll try asking him out,” said Alec and then whined again. _Again, he didn’t even know if he was into guys, but at least he could be smooth about it and not make a complete ass out of himself._ It was so annoying. Alec was beyond annoyed with himself. 

“That’s because you’re trying too hard,” said Underhill and Alec arched his brow.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Theo’s right,” said Marcel. “It’s because you’re trying to force it. Flirting only works when it comes out naturally,” he said and Underhill nodded. Alec huffed and then he clicked with his tongue.

“I just want to be ready,” said Alec with a small voice.

“I know,” said Underhill. “But you have to stop worrying so much,” he said. “I’m sure Magnus said the same thing,” he said because he could remember how nervous he was when he went over to his office for the first time. That was the first thing that Magnus told him and it was true. Once he managed to finally stop worrying so much, he managed to meet Marcel and the rest was history. Everything came naturally with him and that was how he knew that his boyfriend was the right one for him. 

“He might have mentioned it,” mumbled Alec and Marcel chuckled.

“There you go,” said Marcel. “You should listen to that advice. He’s the expert after all,” said Marcel and Magnus puffed his cheeks. Maybe he was an expert at giving advice, but Alec wasn’t so sure if he was an expert at flirting tips. 

“Maybe,” said Alec. “I don’t think he’s any good at giving flirting tips,” said Alec and Underhill laughed softly.

“That depends,” said Underhill and Alec arched his brow. It depended on what?

“On?”

“Well, give me an example of a pick line that he told you that would be a good one,” said Underhill and Alec rubbed the back of his neck. Right, he tried saying them before, but he was too embarrassed and he clicked with his tongue. 

“Well,” huffed Alec and then glanced down. “ _Something like: your smile is so beautiful, so warm that it can melt the icebergs, I can’t even pay attention to anything else. You’re so stunning that I completely forgot my pickup line_ ,” said Alec, his cheeks burning with embarrassment because saying all of that outloud was very embarrassing. Marcel giggled. “ _Hold my hand because I keep getting lost… in your eyes_ ,” mumbled Alec and then he shuddered. “See, that’s so-”

“That’s a good one,” said Underhill and Alec wasn’t so sure. “And true, when I look into Marcel’s eyes… I’m gone,” said Underhill and looked his boyfriend into his eyes. “You better hold my hand, I’m-”

“You dork,” laughed Marcel and pressed a peck upon his boyfriend’s lips. 

Alec sighed and then he clicked with his tongue. He wished to have what those two had; they looked so happy together. But, at least now he was _closer_ to that; well, he wished that it was going to come true, one day. Alec sighed and then he clicked with his tongue as he reached for his phone to see if Jace returned his call or text. He had his phone set on silent, but he was quite surprised and almost shocked when he saw that Jace didn’t respond to his last few texts. Jace was acting kind of odd since the two of them had last seen each other and Alec rubbed the back of his neck. Until then he didn’t even think about it too much, but it was slowly starting to bother him; why was his brother ghosting him? It said that he read all of his texts, yet he-

“Tch, Jace still didn’t reply to me,” said Alec, who was now more talking to himself than anyone else and Underhill leaned closer to him and then arched his brow.

“Something wrong?”

“No,” said Alec, but then he shrugged as he wasn’t so sure himself. “ I don’t know, Jace is,” he said and then he took in a deep breath. “He’s been acting kind of weird,” he said. Underhill knew Jace. “I mean,” he said. “We went out drinking the other day, but he was kind of distant ever since that day,” he said. “It’s like he’s annoyed with me,” he said. “I don’t know how to explain it, it’s weird,” said Alec.

“Did you two get into a fight?” asked Marcel.

“No,” said Alec and then hummed. Well there was that- “Not really,” he said. “When we were out drinking I did tell him about the divorce, finally,” said Alec. “But he wouldn’t understand,” said Alec and then he groaned. “I tried telling him _why_ , but he was making it impossible. He was trying to set me up with random women to get me over Lydia when I tried to tell him that I just wasn’t interested,” said Alec. _Was he too harsh on Jace?_ Alec chewed on his lip. Maybe. It's not like he meant it. 

“Ouch,” said Underhill.

“I know,” said Alec and then his shoulders slumped down. “Maybe I reacted… too strongly, but,” he said. “Jace was annoying me,” he said. “It’s frustrating,” he said. “I tried telling him, but then he started with that and I kind of… told him to shut up,” he said and then narrowed his eyes. “But Jace wouldn’t sulk over something like that,” said Alec and Underhill looked over at Marcel, who-

“Well-”

“What?”

“This is Jace we’re talking about, he has a delicate heart,” said Underhill and Alec wanted to laugh. “No, it’s true,” said Underhill. “Remember what happened when the two of you fought the last time?” asked Underhill and Alec’s eyes widened and he then gulped. _Shit, he was right._ It was a stupid fight, but Clary told him what happened; Jace pretend that he was cool in front of him, but then things piled for two long… Jace got drunk and he ended up sobbing the entire evening at home. And over what? Nothing. 

“But I didn’t… I didn’t really,” said Alec. “He did try to have a serious conversation about it, though. And I kind of shut him off,” he said and ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head. “What was I supposed to do, though? I panicked, kind of. I don’t know, he didn’t understand it and I-”

“Hey, it’s okay, we get it,” said Underhill and Alec gave him a little smile.

“But you should have a talk with him. He doesn’t know, you know?” asked Marcel. “I mean _I_ didn’t know until Teddy told me and I’m usually pretty good and picking up the signs,” said Marcel and Alec chewed on his lip. “It’s okay if you’re not ready, I get it,” said Marcel and Alec nervously smiled back and puffed his cheeks. “You don’t have to come out, not until you’re ready,” he then added.

“I know.”

“Also,” said Underhill. “If you think Jace is going to be anything but supportive, you’re really mistaken,” said Underhill and Alec bowed his head down and then he nodded again. _Yep, they were right._ Alec sighed under his breath and then took his phone back into his hand. The matter of a fact was that they needed to talk. It wasn’t like Jace to ghost him like that, so he knew that something was off. Alec didn’t hesitate to type out the text.

 **Alec:** Jace, I’m sorry about the other day.

 **Alec:** We have to talk.

 **Alec:** Forgive me?

The texts were sent in within a few seconds and Alec’s eyes widened when he saw Jace typing back. He was typing and typing and in the end a very short text came back.

 **Jace:** <3 

**Jace:** I'm sorry too. Let's talk. 

“Told ya’ he’s a delicate soul,” said Underhill and chuckled. Alec huffed and then smiled. 

_Okay, good, he needed to mend things with Jace once and for all!_

* * *

“I tried your techniques today,” said Alec. He was back in his office and was talking to the matchmaker. It was already after he finished with the work, at least officially, but he stayed there overtime because he wanted to get a head start on the case that he was working on. Still, he decided that it was okay to take a few minutes off and call the matchmaker. He was supposed to call in that day, anyway. The matter of a fact was… Alec liked talking to this man. It was easy. Was it because he was a complete stranger? Alec didn’t know. But he kept calling and the matchmaker didn’t seem to mind it. He asked him once about it, but after Alec explained everything to him… he didn’t ask about it anymore. 

Alec heard Magnus chuckling on the other side of the phone call and he narrowed his eyes. “ _Ah, so you ran into your boy toy today?_ ” asked Magnsu and Alec rolled his eyes.

“Don’t call him that, he’s more than that,” said Alec, his cheeks red and then he cleared his throat. “And-and no, I was kind of practicing flirting with… a friend. Not really flirting, I was merely trying to say the pickup lines you told me the other day,” said Alec and he heard another chuckle coming from the other. Alec narrowed his eyes - this wasn’t supposed to be funny. Alec pouted.

“ _And were they impressed?_ ”

“No,” said Alec quickly. 

“ _I’m hurt,_ ” said Magnus, but was obviously playing around. “ _Usually my pickup lines always work,_ ” he said and then hummed. “ _Maybe you said it wrong,_ ” he then carried on and Alec’s cheeks reddened, clearing his throat.

“How can you say all of that with a straight face, man? I cannot. It’s too embarrassing.”

“ _Straight?_ ”

Alec snorted and rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“ _Hey, it’s not embarrassing if you’re really into the person you’re talking to,_ ” said Magnus and then shook his head. “ _Don’t go off practicing with random people. You need to focus on the person you’re interested in,_ ” said Magnus and Alec pursed his lips and then he sighed.

“I guess,” said Alec. “I’m a lost case.”

“ _No you’re not. Don’t give up on me, Gideon,_ ” said Magnus and Alec cringed. Ah, right. He told him that his name was Gideon. It was just… odd, but he decided to stay Gideon for the time being. “ _Like I said after I’m done with you, you’ll be a flirting expert,_ ” said Magnus and Alec started laughing.

“It’s more challenging than you think to make me one.”

“ _I do like the challenge, darling,_ ” said Magnus and Alec’s heart skipped a beat. The nicknames… they weren’t good for his heart. “ _Well. Try it then, try flirting with me and I’ll tell you what you’re doing wrong,_ ” said Magnus and Alec’s heart sped up even more, gripping on his phone and he gulped. 

“Um-” stammered Alec and was suddenly sweating, his body heating up.

“ _Unless you’d think it would be too weird. No pressure,_ ” said Magnus quickly.

“No, it’s just, um,” said Alec and then he huffed under his breath. Honestly, it wouldn’t be a bad idea, but he was just- “I don’t even know how you look like,” said Alec. it was true. “I don’t know much about you, I’ll end up saying something stupid,” said Alec and Magnus chuckeld again.

“ _Practice makes perfect._ ”

“True,” said Alec and held in his breath. “I do want to. But it’s weird, like I said, I don’t even know how you look like.”

“ _Well,_ ” said Magnus, his voice soft. “ _Focus on the things you know about me,_ ” said Magnus and Alec’s breath hitched a little bit. “ _Or think about your guy, and focus on him. Try thinking that you’re flirting with me. Either way, you don’t have to be worried. I won’t laugh. I promise,_ ” said Magnus. Alec nodded even if he was alone in the room. That much he knew, he knew that with Magnus was his safe space and he cleared his throat.

“I’ll try. If you laugh, I’ll never call again,” said Alec, but didn’t mean it.

“ _Deal_ ,” said Magnus and chuckled. 

_Focus on what you know about him,_ told himself Alec and then he narrowed his eyes. He knew some things, but none of those things actually made any… there wasn’t any material for him to actually use it for flirting. The only thing that he actually knew and liked about the guy was his voice. His voice was soft and calming. And he was so easy to talk to, really. It was just… different from other people. _Focus on the voice then._ Was that creepy? Alec didn’t know but it was literally the only thing that he had! Alec gripped his phone and then he cleared his throat.

“I, um, I like how easy it is to talk to you,” said Alec and then he narrowed his eyes. Was that considered as a pickup line? Nah, that was more of a compliment. “And your voice is so… kind,” he carried on by saying. There he went again; only listing things. Then something really, really embarrassing popped into his mind. It was so stupid, but Alec figured that actually worked for most people. “I love the way you say my name, your soft voice,” he said and closed his eyes, trying his hardest not to- “I wouldn’t mind listening it for the rest of my life,” he then finally said and almost dropping the phone.

Alec waited. Nothing. Silence. Oh, shit, was it that bad? Alec’s heart dropped a little bit and he dragged his tongue over his lip. Fuck it, then, he was really a lost case. “Um, Magnus?” asked Alec. “Was-was it that bad?” asked Alec and then whined. “Ugh, see, what did I tell you, it’s-”

“ _A solid first try,_ ” said Magnus, but his voice was different. It was quiet. Distant. Kind of… was he stuttering? Alec was so confused. “ _Pretty well, a good try, yes, Gideon. Very nice, I’m proud,_ ” he carried on by saying and Alec smiled all the way up to his ears. 

“Really? Oh, you scared me there, you suddenly went quiet!”

“ _A-ah,_ ” said the other. “ _Yeah, there was, um, a client came, a bit earlier than we’ve been actually agreed to,_ ” he said and Alec nodded. Ah, okay, that made sense. “ _Sorry about that. I’m very proud of you, yes, yes._ ”

* * *

Magnus cancelled the phone call with Gideon after the two were done talking and he dropped his phone down onto the desk, looking down to his chest and he places his hand over his chest, his heart racing, heat pooling in his chest and he shook his head. “No, you fucking traitor, _no_ ,” said Magnus and groaned. 

Who the hell was he kidding? There was an old saying; _the heart wants what it wants._ So it was utterly stupid of Magnus to even try and deny that he had… strong feelings of attachment to this Gideon. 


	9. Chapter 9

“Jace, I’m really sorry about the last time,” said Alec and Jace glanced over to him. Jace was visiting Alec’s and Lydia’s place. Lydia was currently out with her friends, which gave Alec the opportunity to finally talk with Jace. He decided to tell Jace the whole truth. He didn’t know if he was ready or not, but he couldn’t hide it from him any longer. Lying felt more suffocating than telling the truth, which told Alec that he was probably on the right path. He needed to get it off of his chest and he chewed on his lip. Jace looked at Alec as well and then gave him a little nod. After that evening out, Jace did a lot of thinking and he came to realisation that he behaved like a dick even if Alec was the one to apologise to him. Jace had apologised, but he still wanted to…  _ he realised that he sounded like an insensitive jerk.  _ He knew that Alec wasn’t the one to need rebounds. Still, he wished Alec would confide in him and tell him the whole reason for his divorce. Jace just wanted to be there for him and he huffed under his breath.

“I’m sorry too,” said Jace and then made a little pause. “I didn’t really listen, I guess,” he then carried on by saying. “It was stupid of me trying to hook you up with someone after you just broke it off with Lydia. I know this isn’t you, man, I was projecting my own ways of dealing with breakups,” he then said and Alec nodded. It was true, he knew how Jace handled break ups in the past and he then gave him a little smile. But Jace didn’t come from a bad place, he only tried to help him. In his own way, in his very best way that he knew how and Alec clasped his hands together.

“And I didn’t,” said Alec and then shook his head. “I didn’t exactly open up with the whole truth, so you couldn’t have known the real reason why Lydia and I broke up,” he said and Jace slowly nodded. That was also true, but he didn’t want Alec to feel pressured to tell him the whole truth. He would have liked if he did, but he didn’t want to be too pushy. “And for that I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push you away like I did,” said Alec.

“Nah, I get it man,” said Jace and then waved it off, trying to act that he was perfectly fine with that, but it did hurt when Alec pushed him away like that. “Look, it’s fine,” said Jace and Alec cocked his head to the side. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he said and Alec chewed on his lip. “But I do want you to know that I’ll be here and ready to listen once you’ll be ready,” he said and Alec gave him a little smile.  _ Jace changed a lot,  _ was what Alec realised at that point. Since he was with Clary, he changed a lot for the better and Alec’s smile widened. “So whenever you’re ready, you can come to me and… talk. Lay it all on me, buddy,” said Jace and Alec chuckled softly.

“I know,” said Alec and then he bit down onto his lip. “I want to tell you,” said Alec and Jace looked over to him. “And not because I feel pressured or anything. I want you to know  _ why _ we’ve gotten a divorce, you deserve to know. You’re my brother,” said Alec and Jace gave him a little smile. “But also I did a lot of thinking and hiding this thing is slowly starting to wear me down, I’m tired,” said Alec and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m tired of pretending to be someone I’m not. At this point it just feels like I’m lying to you all and it’s not fair,” he said. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” he added and Jace pressed his lips together.

“I know,” said Jace even if he didn’t know what Alec was hiding from him. Jace finally realised that whatever it was it was pretty serious, so he finally decided to just stop and listen to what Alec was telling him. “You can trust me, whatever it is, you can tell me,” said Jace and Alec nodded slowly. 

“The thing is,” said Alec and then made another little pause, clasping his hands into his lap and he looked down. Everyone was telling him that Jace was going to be very supportive - Izzy, Lydia, Underhill. Everyone knew Jace well enough and at this point Alec felt stupid for actually thinking that Jace would be anything but supportive. It was just difficult. With Jace it was  _ different.  _ But he was finally ready and then he huffed under his breath. “The reason why Lydia and I decided for the divorce is because,” said Alec. “It was… we both deserve more, someone better, who will love us  _ right _ ,” said Alec and Jace narrowed his eyes.

“Okay?” asked Jace. Jace was pretty sure that Lydia loved him and vice versa, but then again Alec did tell him that he didn’t everything that went behind closed doors. But if cheating wasn’t the issue then what was it? Perhaps the two just grew distant. It could happen. Both of them were very busy with work, so maybe that was what drove them apart from each other. Jace rubbed the back of his neck and he could tell that Alec was getting ready.  _ No that wasn’t it, there was something more.  _ Alec wouldn’t be this nervous over growing apart with Lydia.

“Yep,” said Alec and then rubbed his palms again together and puffed his cheeks. “It’s,” he said and then cleared his throat. “Really complicated, but not really at the same time,” said Alec and then he realised that he probably wasn’t making much sense. He was stalling, Alec knew that very well. But beating around the bush wasn’t going to help him, not really. “You know how I told you that I love Lydia, but I’m not in love with her like  _ that? _ ” aske Alec patiently and Jace nodded.

“Yes,” said Jace patiently.

“Well, that’s the truth,” said Alec. “I love her, I love her a lot as a friend, but it’s not in a romantic way. It never was, really,” said Alec and Jace’s eyes widened a little bit. Why did they get married then? “I know how it sounds, really unfair. And you might be asking yourself why I proposed and even got married,” said Alec and Jace slowly nodded. Yes, it did make him wonder. “Because it was convenient,” said Alec. “It was easy, it made sense. Lydia was great and I thought that it could work out,” he said. “If I just… forced myself to… you know, fake it till you make it,” mumbled Alec.

Jace’s heart was twisting. Slowly he was beginning to realise that this was going on for a very long time. How long did Alec have to deal with these feelings? Jace was glad that Alec finally decided to stop this because it didn’t…  _ it sounded like a very miserable life to live.  _ “Alec, buddy,” said Jace. “I had no idea you were this miserable, now I feel bad-”

“I wasn’t miserable,” said Alec because he didn’t like the idea of others thinking that he was miserable with Lydia, because he wasn’t. “I was  _ fine _ , but things slowly started piling up. I wasn’t satisfied with only it being fine, I wanted more than that. And I felt like Lydia deserved the same,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. “Jace,” said Alec and Jace looked up at him. “I’m gay,” he finally breathed it out and Jace’s eyes widened. 

Alec didn’t really think about it too much then, he just sort of said it. His heart was hammering hard, he didn’t know how to stop it, but then again he was nervous as hell, yet it felt liberating to finally say it - no matter what Jace’s reaction was going to be, Alec felt freed. Jace, on the other hand, was slowly wrapping his head around what Alec had told him right now. It made sense then… when Alec would tell him that he loved Lydia, but not in that way. Alec was trying to pretend to be someone that he wasn’t… when he told him that he was living in a lie. Jace’s heart broke for Alec because he shouldn’t be going through this for such a long time. And Jace honestly had no clue. Jace was quite dense, but still - he wished that he could somehow pick up on the signs.

Perhaps Izzy knew something? She didn’t look too happy when Alec announced that he and Lydia were getting married, which at the time didn’t make such sense. She and Lydia were friends, but she was quite upset when Alec told them the news. And this was why probably. Izzy was always much better at picking up signs and things like that. But there was something else -  _ this made sense why Alec got so upset the last time when he tried to tell him.  _ Jace realised that Alec was tryin to make him see the truth, but he ruined it all by trying to hook him up with one of his friends. And now he felt like a much bigger dick than he already did. Alec tried telling him! But he didn’t want to listen.

Jace wasn’t saying anything and Alec’s heart fell to the pit of his stomach. Why wasn’t he saying anything, why was he so quiet? “Jace?” asked Alec and for the first time Alec started to worry. His voice was small and he gulped. “Please say something?” he asked and Jace looked over to the other side. Jace’s face was serious, Alec couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but then the other stood up and walked over to him. Alec’s eyes widened when Jace suddenly pulled him up on his legs and then wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

Jace had never seen Alec like that - like a deer caught in the headlights, he looked absolutely terrified and that was when he couldn’t sit back anymore. He didn’t know what to say, there were so many things that he wanted to say, yet nothing came out because he felt choked up. Alec was scared and it broke him a little bit. Did he really think that he wouldn’t accept him? That was why Jace did the thing that felt the most natural - he walked over to Alec, pulled him up and then hugged Alec. As tight as he could.

Alec’s breath shook, but then he finally relaxed and smiled, hugging Jace back and he closed his eyes. “I love you, you’re my brother. That will never change,” whispered Jace and Alec felt his eyes welling up. He said nothing. He only nodded and hugged his brother tighter. “Thank you for telling me.”

* * *

Alec felt on cloud nine after coming out to Jace. He honestly felt like he could do anything. He decided that it was his lucky day and because of that he decided to treat himself to a little shopping spree - and by shopping spree he meant junk food and beer. He didn't really care; he was in such a good mood and that called for a celebration. There he was, in his favourite mall and was stuffing his shopping cart with many, many things. He knew that Lydia wasn't going to be too happy but he  _ deserved  _ this. As he was shopping he was happily humming to himself a melody of a song. He couldn't wait to be back home! And tell Lydia the good news! 

Alec thought that this was his lucky day at least and his happiness only skyrocketed when he saw someone very familiar over by the frozen section aisles. He didn't know if this was luck or destiny or maybe all of the above, but over there at the side was his hot guy and Alec completely froze as he was trying to make sure that he was real and not just a figure of his imagination. Alec blinked a few times and then he took in a deep breath, nodding to himself when he realised that he was indeed really there. Alec's heart immediately leaped into his throat and he felt his cheeks reddening. Okay; he needed to stay calm and approach the situation very carefully. He needed to show the guy that he was very much into him yet not make a fool out of himself. Alec needed to make Magnus proud - he spent weeks and weeks preparing for this.  _ He needed to show off his flirting skills.  _ Magnus said that he was much better now, so he was pretty confident that he got this!

But how to approach him without coming out as a complete creep? He didn't want to scare him away! Alec puffed his cheeks and then decided to casually stroll down the aisle over to the frozen section and pretend that he didn't see him yet. It was going to be a complete coincidence that they ran into each other again. Well, it was again a coincidence but Alec needed to go over to him as he didn't seem to notice him. The guy was busy trying to pick out the food and he looked so adorable doing that. There was a little frown between his eyebrows as he looked like he was thinking really hard! So adorable. He looked like he was struggling with making a choice; maybe he could help him out! Alec took a deep breath in, then he nodded to himself and wished himself luck before he finally decided to go over to the guy. 

Magnus was in the middle of making the hardest decision of the day - take the frozen pizza with only cheese or paired up with some vegetables as well. Magnus was struggling to make the decision and he hummed again, turning the box around and he started reading. But then he still wasn't sure so he placed the box back into the freezer and he looked into the freezer again and was thinking.  _ Hard. _ "Cheese or veggies? Hmm," said Magnus.

"Well if you're feeling adventurous you should totally go for the vegetarian one," suddenly said a voice behind him and Magnus quickly turned around. His eyes widened when he saw Orchid Boy suddenly standing behind him and his jaw widened.  _ What the hell? _ Magnus needed a while to realise what was happening; they met again. Orchid Boy! Magnus' eyes were wide open and Alec looked down a bit and he swallowed thickly. "We meet again," said Alec shyly and Magnus clasped his hands together. 

"Orchid Boy!" piped up Magnus. 

Alec's cheeks reddened. Orchid… boy? He was kind of taken back and he narrowed his eyes yet his cheeks reddened even more. But why? Alec had many questions and he kind of- "Orchid Boy?" asked Alec carefully and Magnus quickly bit his tongue when he realised that he just said that out loud.

"Ah; crap," said Magnus and then started back paddling. That sort of came out, he didn’t want- “I mean,” said Magnus and then laughed nervously. The guy had the prettiest little flush dusted over his cheeks and he chewed on his lip. “I don’t really know your name,” he then added on and Alec’s eyes widened and then he looked away and then nodded. Why the Orchid Boy though? Perhaps of their first meeting? Alec liked the nickname, but he cleared his throat. “And we keep running into each other,” he said. “I had to name you somehow,” said Magnus and winked. Alec laughed and then nodded.

“Ah, I see,” said Alec and then he gulped. Right, he still didn’t know his name! Alec decided that it was time for him to finally introduce himself! “It’s Alec,” he said calmly and he was really proud of himself. Telling him his name was the first step of flirting. That was how he gave him knowledge that he was interested in him and he then huffed under his breath. If the guy would tell him his name back, then would that mean that he was interested in him as well? There was only one way to find out. 

Magnus looked at him and then he pressed his lips together, his heart skipping a beat and he glanced down. Ah, so the Orchid Boy’s name was Alec. It kind of fit him well. Was that short for Alexander? Probably. And that name fit him even more. Magnus was so torn; he was slowly catching feelings for two guys at the same time yet both of them were out of his reach. One was married and the other was already into someone else. Not to mention that he was a client. Magnus huffed under his breath.  _ It was his luck, his luck freaking sucked.  _

“So, you’re telling me I should go for the vegetarian pizza then?” asked Magnus, trying to get rid of the annoying thoughts.  _ Catarina did say that maybe he wasn’t married. That maybe the woman he saw with them was only a friend of his, but Magnus didn’t want to get his hopes up. He knew how much his luck sucked when it came to the love department and he didn’t even want to- _

Alec’s heart fell a little bit. He kind of expected the guy to tell him his name as well. Or to make a comment about his name, but nothing. Alec felt a little bit lost and then he looked away. Ah, perhaps he wasn’t into guys then? Alec felt discouraged. He wanted to ask him for his name, but it would be too invasive, wouldn't it? Also, he was already talking about the pizza, so going back to the previous topic of the conversation was a little bit… stupid. Alec forced himself not to dwell about it and he nodded.

“I mean if you’re feeling adventurous,” teased Alec and Magnus gave him a cheeky smile.

“Adventurous, huh?” asked Magnus and then laughed softly. “Hmm, might as well,” he said. “But there’s so many to choose from,” he said and glanced at Alec. Even if he was off limits, he wanted to spend more time with him. They kept running into each other, it had to mean something. It had to! “Which one is your favourite?” asked Magnus and Alec moved closer to him and then glanced down.

Alec’s eyes were skimming through the boxes and his eyes lit up when he found his favourite one and he quickly reached for it, handing it over to Magnus. “This one,” said Alec happily. His face lit up, he was like a kid. So, so adorable. 

“Very well,” said Magnus and winked. He then glanced over to the shopping cart that Alec had with him and he grew curious when he saw how much food he had with him. “I see you’re having a party,” said Magnus and Alec quickly turned around and his cheeks reddened because that was all for him. Well, mostly. And Lydia. Alec cleared his throat and shook his head.

“Nah,” said Alec. “Something good happened today,” he said. “I decided to treat myself,” he then carried on and eyed his cart again. “Perhaps I’ve gotten a few too many things, huh?” asked Alec and Magnus smiled.

“You should enjoy yourself,” said Magnus softly. And then silence fell between them. 

An idea popped into his head.  _ What if he invited the other one over; he could totally picture it going somewhat like that- _

_ “Hey, so, um since I’ve gotten so much food and all… I doubt I’d be able to finish it all myself, maybe you could join me and we could have… a little party after all? I’m a pretty decent cook, I can even make us a proper meal.” _

_ And then the guy would reply with, “Oh, that sounds good! Much better than this frozen pizza!’’ _

_ “Indeed! I want to make something special for you. Because you’re special to me.” _

_ “I-I am?” _

Alec’s cheeks reddened and then he shook his head. No, inviting him over would be too creepy. He didn’t want him to think that he was a serial killer or something like that. Luring him with food. Yep, creepy. Alec gulped. Perhaps he could ask him if he was free this weekend. Alec took a deep breath in and he chewed on his lip. Magnus told him that the first step was to make sure the other knew that he was interested in them, but Alec sucked so much at it. He was afraid he’d mess it up. 

All of the smooth lines that Magnus taught him felt right out of the window.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

“This weekend!” said Alec and Magnus flinched.

“Yes?” he asked.

“It’ll be lovely weather, so I’ve heard,” mumbled Alec. Okay, he was slowly getting there. It his head it all played out well.  _ Something along the lines of, _

_ “Do you have any plans?” _

_ And the other would say, “Not really.’’ _

_ Alec would come back with saying, “Neither do I, which is kind of a crime, isn’t it? I mean it’ll be such a lovely day. Hey, there’s a crazy idea - since neither of us have plans, what if we go together somewhere?’’ _

Alec was getting ready for this moment, but then the other said something that he did not plan. “Oh, yes,” said Magnus and smiled. “My friends and I will be having a little picnic. It’s kind of silly, but it brings us together. We’ve been doing it for years now,” said Magnus and Alec’s jaw widened. 

How could he compete with that? Friends he had known for years. And he already had plans! Alec was screaming on the inside. Magnus did not prepare him for that. What if he asked if he could come with? No, no, that would be too much and too forward. Magnus told him to go with what felt natural and this was just…  _ Alec needed to get away.  _ Now the other was going to ask him why he was asking him such odd questions and Alec panicked. The only thing that he could do was-

“My phone! Someone’s calling me!” said Alec quickly and Magnus arched his brow.

“I don’t-”

“It’s buzzing. Believe me,” said Alec and quickly took his phone out of his pocket and then took in a deep breath and then looked away, pretending that he was having a conversation with- “Mom? Yes, oh, yes, I’m just out shopping,” said Alec and then glanced at Magnus. “Oh, not really. Yeah, I can come over. Hmm? Soon? Sure, yeah. I’ll be right back. Yep. Okay, yep,” carried on Alec and hoped that he was a good actor. 

Magnus was watching Alec and he narrowed his eyes.  _ That call came really out of nowhere and-  _ “Well, it seems like I’ll be on my way now,” said Alec, tucking his phone back into his pocket, not giving Mangus the chance to ask him why he asked him what he was up to during the weekend. 

“Oh,” said Magnus with a small voice.

“Yeah. My mom, you know,” said Alec and then shrugged. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah,” said Magnus. As they said their goodbyes and Alec hurried over to the register to pay for his thing, Magnus kept watching and wondering…  _ why did Alec suddenly ask him what he would be up to?  _ Magnus just couldn’t piece it together.

Alec, on the other hand, spent the rest of the day sitting in front of the TV and eating his feelings away - at least he had enough food to do that.  _ Everything sucked.  _


	10. Chapter 10

“ _ And then I tried asking him out. I had all of these scenarios playing out in my head how it would all work out in my favour, but he never replied to the things I wanted to hear, _ ” ranted Gideon. “ _ I really did try my best, I was trying to ask him out, but in the end I messed it up. He didn’t pick up on the signs at all. Again, maybe he’s straight, I don’t even know. This is so fucking pathetic. I’m pathetic for being too scared to actually come out and say it properly to him, _ ” he carried on by putting himself down and Magnus pressed his lips together. This was making him angry and not because Gideon didn’t succeed by asking his guy out, but because he was putting himself down like that. Magnus managed to catch on this quite a few times already, but this was for the first time that it really, really bothered him. He didn’t… like it. He knew that the other felt bad, but he didn’t have to say so many horrific things about himself. He tried and it didn’t work out in his favour. The other guy was stupid for not seeing what a wonderful man Gideon was. If he was there, he would have said  _ yes _ to being asked out by him. “ _ Magnus, I think you should give up on me. I will be forever alone, maybe is what I deserve after what I did to my ex wife, _ ” he carried on and Magnus pressed his lips together. 

“Okay, Gideon, stop it,” said Magnus and his tone of voice sounded much harsher than he intended it to. He could hear the other taking in a sharp breath, he was about to say something, but he didn’t and Magnus pressed his lips together, his heart falling to the pit of his stomach. He needed to be supportive, not snap at the poor guy. He tried his best and he froze in front of the guy that he liked. Nothing new, it happened to Magnus as well. Many times. But that didn’t mean that he would bring himself down. It just… sometimes it wasn’t easy, especially not in the position that Gideon was in. Recently coming out and being divorced; it wasn’t easy. Also the guilt that he felt for-

“ _ I’m sorry, _ ” was Gideon’s response. His voice was small and quiet. “ _ I didn’t mean to make you upset, _ ” he carried on and Magnus ran his fingers through his hair and he clicked with his tongue, shaking his head. It wasn’t… he wasn’t upset. At least not for what the other thought that he was. “ _ I will stop now, I promise. I’m so sorry, I am wasting your time, _ ” he said again and Magnus pressed his lips together. Again, there he was, bringing himself down.

“Okay, Gideon, I want you to understand something, okay?” asked Magnus.

“ _ Okay. _ ”

“You’re never wasting my time,” said Magnus and then heard the other trying to say something, but Magnus wanted to say something before he’d carry on. “And also - stop this, what you’re doing, it’s not healthy,” said Magnus and there was again silence on the other side of the phone call. Magnus knew that he was probably stepping over the lines. After all, Gideon was just another customer of his.  _ Only a customer?  _ Magnus knew that it wasn’t true, but he was more than that. He wouldn’t just let anyone keep calling him in his office even at the times that they weren’t scheduled at. In fact, Magnus was home at the time, it was way after his work hours, but he still picked up after he saw the other’s phone number.  _ He had to.  _ “Stop bringing yourself down and stop being so hard on yourself,” he said. “It’s okay if… look,” said Magnus and then clicked with his tongue. “Did you specifically ask him out?” asked Magnus and Gideon was thinking for a few moments before he-

“ _ I did ask him if he wanted to hang out, yes, _ ” he said in the end and Magnus nodded.

“Then this is on him,” said Magnus and shook his head. “You did nothing wrong. I know how scary it must had been and you should be proud of yourself for stepping out of your comfort zone and asking him out,” he said and the other side of the phone call was again silent. “I mean it, don’t be so hard on yourself. For the first time it was amazing. There will be another time that you can ask him out,” he said. “Perhaps he does know what you meant, but he’s just too… shy as well. Or something like that. Maybe he’s the dense person, but they eventually come around as well,” said Magnus.

“ _ I mean I guess, _ ” said the other finally and Magnus smiled. “ _ I’m just sad that’s all. I spent the whole day yesterday in front of the TV and eating the feelings away, _ ” he confessed and Magnus could already see him. He didn’t know how he looked at all, but he could picture him sitting in front of the TV, wrapped in a blanket and just stuffing his food with unhealthy food. It was what Magnus did as well. Many times. Yep. 

But Gideon didn’t call him yesterday, he waited for the entire day before he contacted him? “I’m so sorry,” said Magnus. “You should have called him right away,” he then said and then pressed his lips together. Okay, maybe that was a little bit-

“ _ It was too late, _ ” said Gideon.

“It’s late now too,” said Magnus and chuckled. 

“ _ Eh, I felt too shitty about myself, _ ” said Gideon. “ _ Watching unrealistic romantic comedies that remind me how lonely I am was the way to go, _ ” he said and Magnus was about to say something, but then he heard the chuckle in the other’s voice and he smiled as well. Okay, so that was clearly a joke.

“Ah,” said Magnus. “While stuffing your face with ice cream?” asked Magnus and Gideon giggled.

“ _ How did you know, are you spying on me? _ ”

“Maybe I am,” joked Magnus and Gideon laughed again. “I find it that chocolate chip ice cream is the way to go with a heartbreak,” he then carried on and a smile tugged on his lips. He sat down onto his couch and then he hummed along, looking over ot the flower that  _ Alec _ gave to him that day in the flower shop. It was blooming beautifully, but Magnus was- “I can relate to you… in some way,” he then said.

“ _ Oh, how? _ ”

“There’s this guy,” he said.

“ _ Oh, there’s a guy! _ ” said Gideon and Magnus laughed. “ _ What’s he like? _ ”

“I’m not sure, I don’t know him that well,” said Magnus and then he clicked with his tongue. “I want to get to know him,” he said and then made another pause. “I mean even if I don’t know him, I kind of feel like I’ve known him for a while. But it’s probably impossible anyway,” he said and then huffed under his breath.  _ Kind of like he knew him, he had the same kind of connection with Gideon.  _ Yet both of them were taken! Ugh! 

“ _ You mean kind of like us? _ ” asked Gideon and Magnus’ jaw dropped.

“W-what?”

“ _ I mean I get that feeling about you. I don’t know why, but you’re easy to talk to, _ ” he said. “ _ It’s different from my other friends, I’ve never… shit, is that bad? That I think of you as my friend? I mean you’re still my matchmaker and- _ ”

“No,” said Magnus hastily and he swallowed thickly. “I-I mean,” he said and then chewed on his lip. “I, um, I think of you as my friend as well,” said Magnus and his heart was racing. 

“ _ Yay! _ ”

“Shut up,” said Magnus and laughed. 

“ _ So, this guy! _ ”

“Yes?”

“ _ You said it’s impossible? _ ” asked Gideon and Magnus smiled.

“Yes?” asked Magnus. “Will you try to give me dating advice this time around?”

“ _ I am here as a friend! You can tell me things. _ ”

Magnus laughed softly and then held the phone tighter. “There’s not much to say. He’s married… well, involved at least with someone so there’s not much I can do. Just watch him from afar,” he said and then groaned. “Pity.”

“ _ I’m so sorry, Magnus. _ ”

“It’s okay,” said Magnus. 

“ _ Perhaps, _ ” said Gideon.

“Yes, darling?”

“ _ I mean, _ ” he said and then made a little pause. “ _ I’ve been calling in for such a long time and I think I’m finally ready, _ ” he said and Magnus’ eyes widened. “ _ Ready to come over to your office, _ ” he said. “ _ I want to, um, I don’t know. Maybe one on one would give you a little bit more insight. Perhaps I’m not good looking and- _ ”

“That’s not true, Gideon. Also, it’s not what matters on the outside, but-”

“ _ Magnus, I’m freakishly tall! _ ” practically yelled it out Gideon and then started laughing. “ _ You don’t know. Maybe he is running away from me because I’m a giant! _ ”

“Some are into tall guys,” said Magnus, practically drooling.  _ Someone like Mangus himself.  _ He knew nothing about the guy - how he looked like, until now - and hearing that he was tall as hell just made him more attractive. And he was a lawyer… in a suit, a tall guy.  _ Damn it.  _

“ _ Thanks, _ ” said the other with a laugh, thinking that he was just trying to cheer him on. “ _ But yeah I know that the inside is more important than the outside, _ ” he then said in the end. “ _ I don’t want you to think that I’m shallow, _ ” he quickly said and Magnus chuckled.

“I know, no worries,” he said and Gideon sighed under his breath. He knew that Gideon was far away from being shallow. He was always looking out for others. Well, he didn’t know anything about him, he had to keep reminding himself that. He knew a few things and then he just kind of made the others things up as he went. Magnus pressed his lips together and he felt giddy inside. Gideon agreed to finally come down to his office. That was something to look forward to! Perhaps Magnus found himself a little bit pathetic and the time being. It was nothing, Gideon was coming down only like a client, but still - he was finally going to meet him face to face. When? “You said you’d be ready to come to my office?” asked Magnus softly and then he heard the other making a little gasp.

“ _ Yes, _ ” said Gideon finally-

“When would you come?”

“ _ I mean when are you free? _ ”

_ Any time is good. Literally come now. I am ready.  _ That was what Magnus wanted to say, but then he reminded himself that he still needed to be professional… ish. Damn it, damn it! “Well, I’m booked for the rest of the week,” said Magnus and the other chuckled.

“ _ Always busy there, huh? _ ”

“Yeah,” said Magnus softly and then opened up the notebook he always had on him. “At the end of the next week, you can come if you want,” said Magnus and he could hear silence on the other side of the phone call. “I mean when would you be free? I bet you’re busy with being a lawyer and all. I can make an exception and wait for you at the office a bit over my working hours. No pressure,” said Magnus.

“ _ I… Friday is okay? _ ” asked Gideon.

“Perfect.”

“ _ Then maybe I can drop by around 4 pm, _ ” said Gideon. “ _ I will finish with work earlier a bit because I really want to finally meet you in person and get this… matchmaking thing seriously, _ ” he said. “ _ I mean if it’s not meant to be with the other guy - like I said we do keep bumping into each other, but I don’t think he’s into me anyway - maybe I could give dating a proper try with someone else. I don’t know, _ ” he said and Magnus chewed on his lip.

“Very well. Friday at 4,” said Magnus and then wrote it down in his note book.

“ _ Um, Magnus? _ ” asked Gideon and Magnus arched his brow.

“Yes?”

“ _ Can I bring someone with me? _ ” asked Gideon and Magnus smiled. Ah, yes. It wasn't an unusual question at all. Some people liked coming down to his office with their friends because they were too nervous.

“Of course, darling. You can bring anyone you want with you.”

“ _ Thank you so much! You’re the best, _ ” said Gideon happily and Magnus had to take another deep breath and he shook his head.  _ Oh, this was getting very dangerous.  _ He didn’t even know what he was getting himself into, but he didn’t care anymore. He was finally going to see him the next week and Magnus was literally screaming inside with glee and happiness. 

“A-ah, not really, I’m just doing my job and-”

“ _ You’re an amazing friend, Magnus. I appreciate it so much. I just want you to know that, _ ” said the other one and Magnus was again fanning his face, biting onto his lip and then he took a deep breath and then decided to stay calm. As calm as he possibly could, anyway.

“T-thanks,” stammered Magnus and then chewed on his lip. “Anyway, I think I should probably go, we’ll talk more on another occasion,” said Magnus and the other agreed. As they hung up on each other, Magnus needed to lay down and take a few deep breaths in. Ah, he had no idea what he's getting himself into at all. 

**

“Lydia, I have news,” announced Alec and Lydia, who was reading a book in the kitchen at the time, slowly looked up and then she smiled. “Busy?” he asked and then she only shook her head, placing the book onto the table and signed Alec to sit down on the opposite side of her. Alec still felt a little bit awkward telling her about…  _ well.  _ The whole matchmaking thing, it was cool if he told her that-

“Okay, shoot,” she said happily.

“I agreed,” he said. “To finally go over to that matchmaker,” he said and then huffed under his breath. “The hot guy is sadly not into me and I think it’s time for me to finally move on,” he said and then chewed on his lip. “My flirting didn’t really improve either, so I think it’s time for me to just… forget about him and move on. Maybe this Magnus guy will help me find someone, you know?”

“Ah,” said Lydia. “He should help me out as well,” she whined and Alec arched his brow. Oh, right, she never told him how the date with Keiron, the waiter from their last visit in the restaurant, went the last day. She kind of came home late, so they didn’t really-

“Didn’t work out?”

“At all. He’s a dick. I need someone serious,” she said and then nodded. “If Underhill vouches for him, I think… I’ll ask him if he can help me as well,” said Lydia. “Can I tag along?” she then asked and Alec grinned.

“I was about to ask Iz to come with me because I’m scared shitless. I wanted to ask you first, but then I didn’t want it to be awkward and-”

“No, please, take me,” said Lydia and Alec smiled and nodded.

_ Okay, so he guessed both of them were going to Magnus on Friday!  _


	11. Chapter 11

Magnus was nervous that day. Gideon was finally coming down to his office; the Friday finally rolled around and he couldn’t believe how long the week was. Magnus made sure that he looked extra good that day when he headed for his office; he needed to make a good impression. Deep down, he knew that he was ridiculous for getting so excited about it, but he couldn’t help it. Finally, he was going to see him and there was a part of him that maybe hoped that he would have a chance with him. That was only his wishful thinking, in reality he knew that he stood no chance. The other had already someone that he was interested in. Not only that, but he was his customer and Magnus swore that he would never cross that line. Still, it was fine to fantasise about it, even if it was never happening. 

Though they did cross the lines of professionalism a long time ago - they were  _ friends _ now. At least that was how they talked to each other. So, they could technically still be friends. Magnus liked making new friends. The two of them got along well, so maybe they could be friends. Who knew? Magnus didn’t really know what to expect but he was very excited and he couldn’t wait for the other to be finally there. It was soon going to be 4 pm - when he was going to show up and he was trying to calm down his racing heart, but he was still so… argh, he was so excited and he couldn’t contain his excitement!

Magnus was nervously walking around his office and then he stepped in front of the mirror and smiled when he saw himself. His makeup was on point, his eyeliner was on fleek and he made sure that his hair was extra spiked up that day. He was wearing glitter, his lucky coat. Everything was like it should have been. Now all that was needing was Gideon. Magnus pressed his lips together and then he huffed under his breath, excitement bubbling inside again and then he chewed on his lower lip, forcing himself to step away from the mirror.

He would be checking himself every now and then in the mirror and he knew how ridiculous he was, but he couldn’t help it. He also couldn’t focus at all - on any of his customers that he saw that day. Magnus felt bad about it, because he knew that they were paying him for this, but it was just…  _ finally it was happening.  _ He spent weeks and weeks of wishing that Gideon could come by his office and now it was finally the day. Finally, he was going to see how he looked. Not that looks mattered, but Magnus was still very interested.

Gideon did say that he was really tall - which was already enough to make him drool worthy in Magnus’ opinion. Also he was a freaking lawyer! Magnus’ imagination was running wild and he had to remind himself that the other wasn’t coming alone to his office. He did say that he was bringing someone. He didn’t tell him who was coming with him, but he was bringing a friend and Magnus knew that he needed to keep… sane way of thinking. Maybe it was for the best if someone was coming; they wouldn’t be stuck alone in the room. Magnus was just a mess, honestly, he was so gone. 

Ragnor kept poking fun at him for the entire week about how excited he was about this, but he couldn’t help it. Catarina would occasionally ask him about the Orchid Boy and Magnus didn’t forget about him. He didn’t, but now he was just preoccupied about finally meeting Gideon. Though, Alec was still there on his mind. But at the same time, maybe it would be for the best if he completely gave up on that guy. He seemed taken as it was and-

Magnus shook his head. “Magnus, focus. Don’t think about him, Gideon’s coming, you need to make a good impression,” said Magnus and then smiled, rubbing his palms together.  _ Ah, he couldn’t wait for that hour to pass by quickly.  _ Magnus couldn’t wait to finally meet the other - he didn’t feel this giddy in a long time!

* * *

“Stop it,” said Lydia when she glanced towards Alec. The two of them were in the car. They had just parked in front of Magnus’ office - the building where Magnus worked and Alec was again fussing over his hair. Lydia chuckled and then she shook her head. She didn’t get why Alec was stressing so much about how his hair looked like. It looked fine, it didn’t really matter, did it? “Your hair looks fine, Alec,” she said and chuckled. Alec’s cheeks reddened when Lydia called him out on it and he looked down, pressing his lips together. “Why does it matter, anyway? He’s there to find you someone and-”

“Lydia, first impressions matter a lot!” said Alec and Lydia narrowed her eyes. Yes, she agreed that first impressions were very important, but at the same time… she didn’t understand it. Alec didn’t even know why he was fussing over this so much. But he wanted to make a good impression on Magnus. His matchmaker. Who was his friend as well. Was that weird? Alec didn’t know, but he liked calling Magnus his friend.

“True, but Alec, this is… too much,” said Lydia because not only did Alec comb his hair, but he was also wearing his  _ lucky _ suit. Alec pressed his lips together and then he looked down. Lydia was probably right, wasn’t she? He looked way too professional, but Magnus told him that he had a thing for guys in suits. And Alec kind of… his cheeks turned red again and then he clicked with his tongue.

“Ugh, I look way too formal, don’t I?” whined Alec and then pressed his lips together. “Should we just drive away? He’ll think I look silly and-”

“Alec, you’re making too big of a deal,” said Lydia and placed her hand on top of his shoulder and gave him a small, warm smile. Alec pressed his lips together and then he shrugged. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure why he was trying so hard to impress Magnus. He still wasn’t technically over the hot guy he kept running into, but Magnus also gave him butterflies in his stomach. Alec didn’t even know how this was possible, but he liked to people at the same time and he puffed his cheeks.

“I know, I’m sorry,” said Alec and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. “I want this to go smoothly,” said Alec and Lydia gave him a little smile. She knew that Alec kept talking for a while with the other before he finally decided to meet at his office in person. “I’m nervous,” he then confessed and Lydia nodded.

“I know,” she said. “And it’s understandable,” she then carried on.

“Thank you for coming with me,” said Alec sheepishly and Lydia grinned.

“Hey, I’m here to find a man too!” she said happily, but Alec knew that Lydia was there for emotional support the most. She maybe claimed that she wasn’t but she was and he was very thankful. “Now, it’s almost 4 pm and if you really care so much about the first impression, I think that we should finally leave the car and go into his office?” she asked and Alec gave her a little nod.

“Crap, yes, we have to hurry! Magnus must think that I’m serious,” said Alec and Lydia chuckled. Alec really cared about what this Magnus thought of him? Hmm. Lydia didn’t question it too long though, she didn’t have the time - not really when they needed to be in the office in five minutes! But she definitely would ask Alec about it later on. 

_ The two seemed close, didn’t they? _

* * *

Any time now, Gideon was coming. Magnus was already again on his legs, checking himself in the mirror again and then he huffed under his breath. He straightened his clothes a little bit and then puffed his cheeks. Ah, there was a smile on his lips and he didn’t know how to stop it. He was so excited and it’s been a while since he had been this excited. Well, Alec also made him excited but this was… he was moving on, correct? Magnus shook his head, pushing those thoughts away and the smile was back. He couldn’t wait for Gideon to be finally there and he was holding in his breath. There was a knock on his door and Magnus’ heart leaped into his throat. 

Magnus quickly hurried over to this desk and sat down; he didn’t want to appear to be waiting for the other one. Magnus didn’t want to give off the impression that he was too desperate and then he bit onto his lip. “Um, come in,” said Magnus. His voice was shaking a little bit, but other than that he managed to remain composure and he rubbed his palms together. But, instead of Gideon stepping in, his assistant that was working outside came in and Magnus arched his brow, but then he reminded himself that this was the standard procedure; she would usually come in to tell him that his client had arrived. Especially if that client was a new one. That meant that he was there!

“Alice,” said Magnus happily and his assistant glanced at him. “Has my next, um, client arrived?” asked Magnus and she gave him a little smile and a nod.

“Yes, sir, he’s here,” said Alice and Magnus’ heart was again hammering against his ribcage. “And it seems he’s brought a friend of his,” she then added on. “He’s asking if she can come in with him as well,” she carried on by saying and Magnus’ smile was widening because that was so cute, wasn’t it? He wanted permission first before he would do anything. Ah, it’s been awhile since he met a person like that. Again, Magnus knew that he shouldn’t be idealising a person too fast. He always did that and-

“Yes, of course, both of them can come in at the same time,” said Magnus and before Alice was about to step out of his office to go and bring Gideon in, Magnus stopped her. “Alice!” he said and the young woman turned around to him and cocked her head to the side. “Is he, um, really as tall as he claimed to be?” he whispered and Alice laughed softly but then she nodded because the guy that appeared in front was a freaking giant and Magnus’ eyes lit up when she nodded. “Okay, send them in. Thank you, Alice,” said Magnus and the other nodded again, giggling as she stepped outside.

Magnus gripped on the pen that he was holding - should he start praying to the gods?

* * *

“Okay, Mr Bane will see you now,” said Alice after she came out of the office and Alec’s heart skipped a little bit and he quickly glanced down. Again, he was very nervous. He looked over at Lydia, who gave him a little wink and Alec huffed under his breath and then he glanced towards Magnus’ assistant.

“Both of us can come in?” asked Alec.

“Yes, I made sure,” said Alice and smiled softly. “He said that it’s okay if both of you come in at the same time,” said Alice. “Just a piece of personal advice?” she asked and Alec gave her a little nod. “No need to be so nervous. Magnus really is the kindest person ever. Not just as a boss. But in general. He’ll help you find what you’re looking for,” she said and Alec smiled at that. Ah, even Magnus’ staff was kind! Alec liked that; it meant that Magnus really did care about what kind of people he hired!

“Thank you,” said Alec and then then looked over to Lydia, who was already standing over by the door and was ready to knock on it any time now. Alec chewed on his lip, feeling his palms getting sweaty. Ugh, how was he supposed to perform a freaking handshake when his hands felt all clammy and gross? Alec whined and started wiping his hands against his trousers, but that made them wrinkle and he started quickly straightening those and in the end he decided to give up because all that he was doing was wasting time.

“Alec, it’ll be okay,” said Lydia and then extended her hand out. Alec looked really pale and nervous. Maybe holding his hand was going to help? Alec smiled and then nodded, taking her hand finally and she started dragging him towards the door again. That time Alec followed with heavy steps, but the excitement was again bubbling from within and he quickly knocked on the door and then he waited.

“ _ Come in _ ,” he heard from the other side of the door and Alec glanced at Lydia one final time before he finally grabbed the door knob and slowly pushed it down. Slowly, he opened the door and then stepped inside of Magnus’ office, Lydia following him as well. Alec was still gripping on her hand, closing the door after the two had stepped inside as he tried to make a good impression and then he held in his breath. For a few seconds he didn’t dare to look up, not yet. He was trying to make this a grand reveal for himself.

Magnus’ smile was wide when he finally heard the door opening and he positioned himself again on his spot, trying to seem busy when in reality he couldn’t think of anything else than meeting Gideon. However, his smile soon transformed into confusion when he saw the person stepping inside of his office and his smile was slowly fading from his face. Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees and his head was spinning a little bit because that made no sense. The person that stepped in the room and his so called friend - he had met them before. Both of them. 

_ Why the hell was Alec stepping inside of the room and why the hell was Lydia with him?  _ Magnus’ heart dropped and he felt stupid for getting his hopes up. But this didn’t make any sense; where was Gideon? He decided to move on from Alec, it was stupid to wait around someone that was already taken! Was this some kind of a joke? Magnus blinked a few times, his breath shaking and the moment came to a halt. It was like everything was happening in slow motion and Magnus felt chills running down his spine. He still couldn’t connect the dots.

A fool, that was what he was - a complete and utter fool. Magnus felt incredibly foolish. And more than that he felt anger because he felt that he was going to be meeting someone new, but…  _ maybe Alec was Gideon?  _ Was he calling in just to mess with him? Was he… why did he lie to him? Magnus knew that Alec did tell him that Gideon wasn’t his first name, but there was no way that this was another coincidence. Alec had to somehow know! Though granted, Magnus never remembered revealing his name to the other when they would randomly meet, but coincidences like that didn’t happen in real life!

Magnus knew that he needed to give the other a chance to explain it, but the walls around his heart were already starting to close. Alec, on the other hand, froze completely when he finally dared to look up. Oh, he was going for a grand reveal and he got more than he bargained for if he was being completely honest. When he saw how Magnus looked, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide and his face pale. But this didn’t make any sense; why was the hot guy that he was trying to get Magnus to help him with there? He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Magnus was indeed him. Alec’s head was spinning and he slowly glanced at Lydia, who looked confused as well.

She knew the guy, well kind of. He was the one that was there in that flower shop months ago. Lydia remembered how Alec looked at him; it was clear that he had a thing for him, but back then he was too scared to actually approach a guy. Things have changed now. But this still didn’t make sense. Magnus was the guy that they met in the flower shop? Talk about coincidences, though it was more than that. Destiny! Lydia smiled softly, but she could sense that something wasn’t right in the room. Alec looked shocked, yes, but the other’s eyes darkened and he looked upset. Lydia swallowed thickly and then she glanced towards the door. Maybe she should have excused herself? They probably had a lot to talk about and then she slowly let go off Alec’s hand. 

Magnus glanced towards the woman and then he pressed his lips together; why was she there? Nothing made sense anymore, blinded by his own fear, Magnus couldn’t connect the dots. Yet. “Alec?” finally asked Magnus and Alec flinched and forced himself to look at Magnus again. He huffed under his breath; was it just him? Did he sound annoyed? Angry? Alec didn’t know what he had done wrong, nothing was making sense anymore. Alec was so excited before coming here, but now all that he was starting to feel was dread. He was nervously twisting his fingers as he placed his hands together behind his back and then he looked at Lydia. She also looked awkward; she didn’t know what to do with herself. “What’s the meaning of this?” asked Magnus then and Alec held in his breath.

“I, um,” stammered Alec. He didn’t know what to say either and he somehow felt that by saying nothing he was making the whole situation even worse, even though he didn’t understand what was wrong in the first place. Why did Magnus look so angry? Alec didn’t know what to feel either, but if Magnus was his matchmaker and the hot guy that kept running into then… maybe just maybe they could- Alec didn’t know what to expect. He was lost; his mind was racing. “I… didn’t know it-”

“Perhaps I should leave,” said Lydia. He didn’t know the full story about what was going on, but he could sense the tension between the two of them and she knew that the two needed to talk it out. She was just going to spend some time outside with Alice; she didn’t mind it at all. However, when she said that, Alec panicked and he quickly hurried after her, trying to stop her. Magnus was watching all of this from afar and his heart continued sinking when he watched them together. 

“Lydia, don’t leave, I can’t-”

“Alec, you two need to talk,” said Lydia and then glanced towards Magnus. Not only that he looked angry, but he looked somewhat hurt as well. “It’s a private matter between you and him,” said Lydia and Alec shuddered. He was afraid to mess something up. That was all that he managed to do. He was good at messing things up and he swallowed thickly. “Did you know that he-” still asked Lydia and Alec quickly shook his head.

“No,” said Alec. “I had no idea that Magnus is  _ him, _ ” said Alec and then he swallowed thickly. “Lydia, I’m scared,” he said. The two of them were talking quietly; Magnus couldn’t really tell what they were talking about. “What if I say something stupid again?” he asked and Lydia gave him a little smile.

“You can do this,” she said and winked.

“I can’t,” said Alec.

“Sure you can,” said Lydia and then ruffled Alec’s hair. “Go get him, tiger,” she then said and waggled her eyebrows. “I’ll be just outside, okay? If you really need me, call me,” she said and Alec gave her a little nod, with fear in his eyes watching how Lydia left the room and when he was alone with Magnus his heart sank to the pit of his stomach and he felt his stomach making a flip.  _ He was so going to mess this up.  _

Alec counted to ten after the door closed and then he took a deep breath in, slowly walking closer to Magnus and a little sheepish smile spread across his face. If he was being honest, he was glad. He was glad that this Magnus, the matchmaker, turned out to be  _ him. _ The hot guy from the flower shop. It made him believe that there really was something meant to happen between the two of them. He couldn’t believe it himself at first, but now it led him to believe that the universe had plans for him. He would have never believed it in the first place, but now…  _ how many more signs would he need?  _

“Magnus, huh?” asked Alec shyly and Magnus pressed his lips together, forming a thin line. 

“I will repeat my question - what are you doing here, Alec?” asked Magnus slowly. “Or… Gideon?” he then carried on. His voice wasn’t warm like it had been and something told him that Magnus thought that he knew. That he knew it was him all along.  _ Oh, boy, he would have to explain a lot of things.  _ But he didn’t know how to explain it; he didn’t know how this happened as well. It was all just a big mess and he felt nervous as hell. 

“Actually it’s, um, Alexander Gideon Lightwood,” said Alec just as Magnus was about to accuse him of lying. He pressed his lips together and then he narrowed his lips, folded his arms on top of his chest, scanning up and down the other. Alec appeared to be nervous, his hands were nervously shaking and Magnus bit his lower lip.  _ But it couldn't have been a coincidence.  _

“Did you know?” asked Magnus, much softer that time, but he was still keeping his walls. He didn’t know what to think, but he could see the other’s reaction before - he looked as surprised as he did. So he didn’t know, he couldn’t have known, right? But he could easily google his picture and- Magnus was just very confused. 

“Knew?” asked Alec. He knew what Magnus was asking, but he was stalling as he was terrified. He was so afraid of messing this up. Because Magnus did say that he was into  _ guys _ as well and maybe-  _ oh, no there was someone that he was into, right?  _ But Magnus told him the last time that he found out that the guy was married and-

“That it was me,” said Magnus and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. 

“N-no, I swear, I didn’t… my friend gave me your number, I swear, I didn’t-”

“You could have Googled my photos, it’s not that hard to-”

“I didn’t,” said Alec and shook his head. “T-this is shocking for me too, please believe me?” asked Alec and Magnus took a deep breath in and then he chewed on his lip. So if what Gideon said… him being divorced then Lydia was-

“So Lydia is-”

“My ex!” said Alec quickly. “She’s here for emotional support and to find someone too. She would ask you to arrange a date for her after you’d be done with me,” said Alec. His heart literally felt like it was about to jump out of his chest and he didn’t like it. 

“Oh,” said Magnus and then finally smiled. “I can’t believe, I assumed the two of you-”

“Hmm?”

“Were married,” said Magnus and Alec quickly shook his head, but his eyes then widened. 

“We were, but like I told you, we got divorced… and stuff,” he said and then he rubbed the back of his neck. Magnus nodded, but he was still astonished. They still got along so well? Magnus was in awe, especially of Lydia and he gave Alec a little smile. Well, this changed things. A little bit. At least now he knew that Alec never lied to him.

“So you really didn’t know about any of this?” asked Magnus and Alec silently shook his head. 

_ Gideon and Alec were the same person - holy fucking shit!  _ He fell for the guy two freaking times! He didn’t know if he should laugh at himself or cry. “Woah,” said Magnus and then shyly smiled. “What are the odds then, huh?” he asked and Alec stole a quick glance at the other. Damn, he looked even better than he remembered. “This is so weird,” said Magnus and Alec chewed on his lips.

“I know right, it’s like, um, destiny,” said Alec and Magnus took in a hitched breath and his cheeks reddened.  _ Hey, since when he was so good at…  _ no, he wasn’t flirting. This was just…  _ no!  _ Magnus shook his head and then he clicked with his tongue. 

“Anyway,” said Magnus quickly, deciding not to think about that too much and Alec looked at him. “How about we… sit down and, um, let’s see how I can help you?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded, but felt a little bit disappointed. Magnus was suddenly very professional and he nodded, following the other one to his desk and he plopped down onto the chair, holding in his breath. “So, Alexander,” said Magnus and Alec peeked at him. 

“Yes?”

“You said that you wanted to move on from the guy that rejected you?” asked Magnus and Alec took in a sharp breath. “I just want you to be very honest with me with what you want, okay?” asked Magnus. “You don’t have to feel awkward about it at all,” said Magnus and winked.  _ If he moved on from that guy then- _

“I-I tried, but then you said that you had plans with friends and-” blurted out Alec and his jaw dropped when he realised what he said. Magnus’ eyes quickly shot at him and it was only at that moment when he realised what in the world was happening. So, his first feeling wasn’t wrong? Alec really was blushing that day in the flower shop. He was into him, he wasn’t getting mixed signals?

“Oh my God, I’m the guy you were trying to ask out!” said Magnus and Alec flinched. Now what? He figured it out! Alec slowly nodded, but he was completely frozen and he kept looking down. Alec was panicking, he really didn’t know what to do!

“I’m sorry!”

“Why?”

“I’ll leave, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to-”

“Remember the guy I thought he was married?” quickly hollered Magnus after Alec before he managed to get to the door. Alc froze again and he slowly turned around, blinking a few times.  _ Yeah?  _ Magnus clicked with his tongue; he still wasn’t getting it? “As it turns out he’s not married, he’s divorced and-”

“Me?” whispered Alec as if he was afraid that Magnus would say no.

Magnus smiled. “Yeah,” said Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped. “And I was starting to fall for Gideon as well,” he said. “I’m so glad both of you are the same person. This had never happened to me before,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart was about to give in.  _ what, what what? How was this even possible?!  _

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, silly,” said Magnus and chuckled again, going now to Alec and then he rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t know where to take it from there, he wasn’t even sure if it was a good idea for them to- “Look,” said Magnus. “I’m usually not a big believer of density, but damn it, this has to mean something. It has to,” said Magnus and Alec chewed on his lip. “Man, now I feel so stupid. I mean you were trying so hard to ask me out, but I made it impossible on you, huh?” asked Magnus softly and Alec’s cheeks reddened.

“It-it’s fine, you had plans already, so-”

“Maybe,” said Magnus and Alec looked at him. “How about a drink… if we go grab a drink some time,” said Magnus. “Just… no pressure. Us, getting together to grab some coffee, let’s say maybe on a weekend or-”

“Oh my God, please yes, I’m so fucking ready,” blurted out Alec and then he realised how he said that and- “I mean I would like to have a cup of coffee with you somewhere in the near future with or without any strings attached. Whatever is cool. I’m chill,” said Alec. _ He was anything but chill.  _

Magnus cracked up again. Ah, Alexander truly was something else, he would have loved to see where this would take them. ”Okay,” said Magnus and Alec and finally allowed himself to say what he wanted to say for the longest time ever. “You’re adorable Alexander,” he said and just like that Alec’s brain melted into mush. 


	12. Chapter 12

Perhaps telling his parents about the divorce a day before the long awaited date with Magnus wasn’t such a good idea, but then at the end he had no other choice than to finally come clean about it. He knew that he shouldn’t have hidden it from them for such a long time, but the damage was already done. Alec wanted to be the one to tell them, but they heard it from someone else. Not that it was really surprising, Alec was hiding it for such a long time, so of course it would hurt if they would hear it from other people and not their son themselves. Maryse and Robert called Alec over to their place to address the rumours they were hearing about in their close family and friends and Alec finally decided to admit that it was true. He didn’t tell them  _ why _ , but he did tell them that he and Lydia were no longer married. And it didn’t really go well. 

How could it have gotten well in the first place? He should have just told them from the very beginning and not hide it for such a long time; for months he was pretending that everything was okay. He didn’t really lie, because they didn’t ask him, but he did know that that was just a lame excuse. Alec had been lying to his parents and he felt guilty about it. The longer that he hid it, the harder it was to carry this burden around, but he just didn’t know how to come out and say it. No matter what, the timing didn’t feel right. And in the end he messed it up and he knew it. Alec hated it that they found out from other people and there was nothing that he could have done now but hoped that they would come around.

Robert and Maryse weren’t really mad that their son had gotten a divorce in the first place - if it didn’t work out, it just didn’t work out. It was better to resolve it early on than to drag it out for too long when things would get too bad and there would be nothing but hatred between people. However, what hurt them was that he was hiding it from them for such a long time. Lydia and him appeared happy, so they never suspected a thing. 

Alec chewed on his lip and he sighed sadly. He was in a terrible mood and a part of him wanted to cancel this date.  _ Was it even a date?  _ Everyone was telling him that it was indeed considered a date and Alec was excited about it, but since the talk with his parents he didn’t really look forward to anything. One of his greatest fears came true - disappointing his parents. As he was trying not to disappoint them by having a failed marriage, he managed to do quite the contrary and he knew that he disappointed them. They didn’t say anything, but he could see it on his father’s face. After telling them, Robert left the room. Maryse stayed and tried getting more information from Alec, but he didn’t tell them anything. Alec was glad that his mother didn’t turn her back on him and was there to listen to him, but he could see the hurt in her eyes and it killed him.

The day was also shitty as well - rain has been pouring down for the entire day and it was just a mess. Perhaps it was another sign that this date wasn’t going to work out. Alec didn’t even know what came over him, but he decided to feel sorry for himself that day. The rain added onto the dark atmosphere. Izzy, Lydia and Jace had to physically make him not to cancel this date plans - after so much work, he wasn’t going to be cancelling anything. Alec was glad that he didn’t cancel it in the end because going out among people actually felt good. Kind of, he hoped that he was going to get into the spirit of it all, but he should have known that all of the odds were against him that day - of course they were, he was a terrible son and a horrible human being for lying to people like that. Everything started going downhill after stepping out of the subway and he wanted to disappear.

When he got out of the subway and opened up his umbrella a strong wind came out of nowhere and ended up completely wrecking his poor umbrella. It was old and in a bad state already so Alec ended up in the middle of the street without an umbrella. He ran towards a shop to buy a new one, but it was pouring. It was raining a lot, so he ended up completely wet on his way to the shop. But that wasn’t the end of it all, oh, no, no! The universe really was out to get him that day.

When he stepped back out of the shop - he was already running late. The shop that he picked was packed with people. After stepping out he tried to open up the new umbrella but the damned thing wouldn’t budge for a few seconds. He was standing on the edge of the sidewalk, so that people wouldn’t bump into him. What he didn’t really consider were the rude drivers of New York. On the road, just a few steps away from where the sidewalk ended was a big,  _ big _ puddle. And of course one driver decided to push the speed limits and he ended up driving over that big puddle of rain with full speed - it ended splashing all over Alec. If his clothes were completely soaked and wrecked by then, that was the end for him. 

Alec felt shitty and he looked shitty as well. He felt cold and dirty, he wanted to go home. But cancelling on Magnus now didn’t feel fair. He was probably already waiting for him at the restaurant and he didn’t want to stand him up. That would be too rude and he would completely ruin his chances with him. He wanted to see where this would lead them. Like Magnus said the other time - they kept running into each other randomly and it had to mean something. Alec was very much interested in a relationship with Magnus, but not looking like  _ this. _ Magnus was probably going to run through the door after he would see him. Alec managed to catch a glimpse at himself at one of the shop windows and he wanted to cry. 

Still, he decided to go to the restaurant - that was if they would let him in looking like that. The place they arranged their date at wasn’t really anything fancy as Magnus wanted this to be laid back and nothing too fancy - he didn’t want to feel Alexander pressured or anything. But with Alec’s luck, he was pretty sure that he would get kicked out of there as well. After all, the universe hated him that day.

* * *

Magnus glanced towards the clock again and then he smiled. It was okay, Alexander was a little bit late, but he didn’t think too much of it. He was really, really excited about this date. He knew that he should be laid back and not expect too much - yet - but he couldn’t help it. This was the only thing that he was able to think and talk about and now it was finally happening. He still couldn’t believe how it all worked out, but in a way he liked it. He liked thinking that even the universe though that the two of them should be fated together. Magnus always sold this to his clients, but he didn’t really believe it that it had to do anything with him. He was happy that the universe proved him wrong.

So, there he was, sitting in the restaurant and was waiting for Alexander to join him. He kept looking around, wondering how much longer it would take the other to show up. Magnus considered calling him, but at the same time he didn’t want Alexander to think that he was too… clingy? Or desperate? Magnus knew that he was overthinking again, so he decided to wait just a little bit. Maybe he should order them a round of drinks? But he didn’t know what Alexander would be in the mood for. Maybe some sort of wine, but what kind of wine? Or maybe Alec was more of a beer kind of guy? Magnus didn’t know and the more he kept thinking about it, the more he was sure that didn’t really know if ordering without Alexander was a good idea. In the end he decided to settle for waiting a little bit longer and not even ten minutes later, Alec finally stepped through the door of the restaurant. 

Magnus’ face cheered up, but then he saw that Alexander looked a little bit… off. At first he couldn’t really tell what was wrong, but as Alec managed to find him among the people in there and he slowly came closer to him, Magnus’ eyes widened when he saw him. Alec’s clothes were soaked and so was his hair. Magnus pressed his lips together and then he took in a deep breath. Poor thing looked like he was in a terrible mood and he rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t know what happened. The other did have an umbrella in his other hand, but outside there was terrible wind as well and the umbrella didn’t really do much in such weather.

Alec didn’t dare to look around him - after finding Magnus’ table, he looked down and quickly hurried over to the other one. He didn’t want the waiters to see him and then throw him out. At least he wanted Magnus to see that he showed up. His cheeks were burning up, his heart was hammering. What was supposed to be an exciting and happy moment turned out to be a terrible experience for him. His first date with a guy turned out to be a complete disaster and it didn’t even start yet. Magnus pressed his lips together when Alec sat on the opposite side of the table and he peeked up to face Magnus.

“Sorry, I’m late. I,” said Alec and then shrugged. “Stuff happened.”

“I see,” said Magnus and didn’t laugh. Alec was glad that he didn’t, but at the same time he knew that Magnus wouldn’t do something like that. Magnus was nice, he wasn’t mean. “What happened?” asked Magnus softly and Alec was chewing on his lip.

“Everything,” mumbled Alec and then took in a deep breath and shuddered. Even if he was inside, he still felt cold. No wonder, even his socks were wet. Everything was wet and soggy. “I decided to use the subway to get here because I’m… not good at making good decisions,” said Alec and then held in his breath. “And well,” he said. “The universe hates me today,” said Alec and his heart fell to the pit of his stomach.  _ This is what I deserve,  _ was what he wanted to say, but then he remembered that he promised to Magnus that he wouldn't bring himself down as much. But it was hard. It was something that he was still working on and in the end he just glanced down and shrugged. 

“I’m sure that’s not true,” said Magnus softly and then leaned a little bit closer. Alexander was shivering; he had to be cold, huh? They couldn’t have the whole meal in the restaurant like this. Alec needed to change his clothes. “It’s the weather that sucks today. The universe is great, it brought us together,” said Magnus and winked. It was funny how fast Alec’s face brightened up when Magnus said that and just a little bit his body warmed up, biting onto his lip and he slowly nodded.

“The wind ended up breaking my umbrella and then some crazy driver drove past a puddle with full speed when I was standing on the sidewalk,” said Alec and then glanced down. “Hence… I’m drenched,” he said and then shuddered again. “Ugh, I hate it, I’m sorry,” said Alec. “I wanted to return back home and then call you to cancel this whole thing, but-”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” said Magnus quickly and smiled. Magnus puffed his cheeks because he didn’t like seeing Alec in distress like that. “You’re cold,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. “You poor thing.”

“It’s fine, I’ll warm up,” said Alec. “Let’s order?”

“No,” said Magnus. “I can’t have you sit like this here for at least an hour,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart sunk to the pit of his stomach again. So, Magnus was cancelling their plans? What Magnus had in plan was something else, but  _ not cancelling the plans.  _ There was no way. He wanted to invite Alec back to his place, he lived just around the corner, so perhaps… but was that too soon or too-

“Oh, okay,” said Alec. 

“Look, this will sound strange,” said Magnus. “How about we go back to my place?” asked Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened, quickly looking up.  _ So, he didn’t want to cancel the plans?  _ “I’ll give you some spare clothes, I’m pretty sure I have something that will fit you,” he said. “After you warm up, we can just order some pizza and have the date there,” said Magnus sofly. “I really wanna spend time with you,” he said softly and Alec’s heart jumped at that. “That is if you’re comfortable with coming over,” he said.

Alec didn’t really need to think about it for too long - of course he wanted to come over to Magnus’ place. His clothes were drenched, but he was still willing to sit there in the restaurant for over an hour like that just to spend time with Magnus. Magnus’ offer was more than generous and he was very happy to hear that Magnus  _ still _ wanted to spend time with him. A little shy smile spread across his lips as he nodded. “I’d like that,” said Alec in the end and Magnus gave him a bright smile. 

_ He knew that it was a good decision to wait with the order! _

* * *

“Warmed up?” asked Magnus as he sat down next to Alec. The two were back at his place - Alec had changed his clothes; he was now wearing a sweater and some sweatpants that Magnus gave to him. They were a bit oversized for Magnus, so they fit Alexander well! Alec managed to warm up after that. Magnus also draped a thick blanket around him and made him a cup of tea with rum, which he was currently sipping on and he smiled, sheepishly glancing down when Magnus sat down next to him.

“Yes, thank you,” said Alec politely and Magnus smiled softly and then leaned back. Still, Alec felt bad about the whole thing. “I’m sorry we had to cancel our dinner plans for today because of me,” said Alec, his voice small and Magnus waved it off. Honestly, he didn’t care where he spent the time with Alec; he just wanted for them to get to know each other a bit better. Alone and private.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Magnus. “It’s practically the same. It’s still us spending time together. The pizza is on the way. The plus side is that we don’t have to deal with other people,” said Magnus. “It’s only us here,” said Magnus and Alec’s face flushed.  _ Yeah, he was very well aware of that fact.  _ In fact it was really hard for him to focus on anything else than that. He thought that he was fine with that, but now that they were there in Magnus’ loft it was a completely different story and he swallowed thickly.

Magnus’ apartment was big; Alec liked it. It was interesting; it wasn’t like in any other apartment that he was in so far. The furniture looked old, but not in a bad way. Alec guessed that was what people called  _ antique.  _ It fit Magnus quite well and he just puffed his cheeks and then placed the empty mug onto the coffee table that was in front of him and he squeezed himself tighter into the blanket. It smelled nice and it was hugging him comfortably. Magnus smiled when he saw Alec squeezing himself into the blanket and his smile grew.

Alec looked towards the window and on the window stall he saw the… flower? Alec’s smile widened and then he hummed along. “I see the flower is still with you,” said Alec and Magnus’ cheeks reddened. Ah, right. The flower was of course still with him! He made sure to take good care of it.

“Of course, darling,” said Magnus and chuckled. “It’s been in my primary care ever since you gave it to me,” said Magnus and Alec smiled softly and then looked down. “I know, it’s silly,” he then carried on, but Alec shook his head.

“It’s cute,” said Alec softly and Magnus waggled his eyebrows.

“Was that… flirting?” asked Magnus and Alec flushed and shrugged, but the smile remained. Magnus was happy about that, Alec was really stressed before. “I’m glad to see you smiling, feeling better?” asked Magnus and Alec slowly nodded and then sighed. The frown was back and Magnus cursed. “Crap, I didn’t want to make you remember of-”

“It’s fine,” said Alec and shrugged. “It’s been a long day.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Aren’t first dates supposed to be fun and stuff? I don’t want to unload my emotional baggage on you,” said Alec and Magnus shook his head.

“Nonsense,” said Magnus. “If it’s something you’d like to share with me you should tell me,” said Magnus and Alec shrugged.

“My parents finally found out about the divorce,” said Alec slowly and then made another pause. “From other people. It… sucks, but well, at least now the truth is finally out,” said Alec and Magnus bit his lip.

“Ouch.”

“It’s fine, at least now they know,” said Alec and then rubbed his palms together. “I still didn’t tell them about… you know, me liking guys,” said Alec and whined. “I mean are you sure you want to start a relationship with me?” asked Alec because he was again getting self conscious. Magnus arched his brow and nodded.

“Yeah, why not?”

“I mean here I am - thirdy, still practically in the closet,” said Alec and then shook his head. “I have no experience. I’ve never dated a guy, never kissed, heck, never even held a guy’s hand and you’re much more-” started Alec, but then he felt Magnus dropping his hand onto his own and he stopped talking. Magnus slowly turned Alec’s hand around with his other hand and then pressed their palms together, linking their fingers together and he smiled.

Magnus knew why Alec was saying all of that and that small wish - to hold someone’s hand got to Magnus. He had to hold Alec’s hand and his heart melted. “Now you’re holding my hand,” said Magnus and winked. Alec’s brain was again overheating. Alec nodded slowly and then he swallowed thickly. He liked holding Magnus’ hand, it made him feel all fuzzy on the inside and for the first time in the whole day he managed to really and actually feel happy. And at ease. He sighed and Magnus smiled softly again.

“Yeah,” said Alec shyly and then sighed happily. The sweet moment was interrupted when their pizza arrived, but Magnus made sure that he was soon back on the couch with Alexander. Sharing the blanket, the two of them continued their date for a few more hours. Sharing pizza and more stories… just getting to know each other a little bit better. It was a lovely and amazing first date. 


	13. Chapter 13

“So, I’m taking that the first date went okay,” said Ragnor and then handed a cup of coffee to his friend and Magnus snapped back to reality again. He was again thinking about his date with Alexander a few days and he just absently nodded and went back to thinking about how adorable Alec was that day. Ragnor chuckled and then he sat on the other side of the table and he sighed happily. Magnus was visiting his place and he was happy to see his friend in such a good mood. It seemed that he was finally getting some luck in the love department as well. It was kind of ironic that he was setting people up and making sure they got their happily ever after, but he still didn’t meet his own person. Maybe that was different now and he leaned back against the chair. 

“He’s just so,” said Magnus because he didn’t know what kind of word to use to describe Alec. There were so many adjectives that he could use and yet still it wouldn’t be enough to describe how much fun he had on their first date. And it was only the first date! “He’s really different,” said Magnus and Ragnor laughed there next to him. Yes, he heard that multiple times. Magnus kept on talking about him and he had heard all about how amazing and different this new man in his life was. And he hoped that Magnus was right. From what Ragnor heard, he did sound like a good person, which was the most important thing.

“So I’ve heard, you might have mentioned it a few times,” said Ragnor and then laughed when Magnus looked over to him and flushed a little bit. Magnus glanced down and then he puffed his cheeks. Was he talking too much about him? But he couldn’t help it, he was completely swept off of his feet. He was trying to fight it before, but now not anymore and he was just floating. He was on cloud nine and he already couldn’t wait for their next date.

“I do keep talking a lot about him, huh?” asked Magnus and Ragnor laughed.

“Yep,” he said and then grinned all the way up to his ears. “But it’s good, you know? To see you finally so happy,” said Ragnor and Magnus gave him a little nod. “I’m glad that in the end all worked out as well,” he carried on. Ragnor still found it fascinating how the two met; how Magnus managed to fall for him two times! It was really something special and he could agree with Magnus on this one - when he would say that this was some sort of a destiny. It felt like that to Ragnor as well.

“I am as well,” said Magnus and then he chewed on his lip. “We’re soon meeting again,” he said. “We’ll go to the cinema and this time I hope it all works out in his favour,” he said and then bit on his lip. “He looked so sad when he showed up to the restaurant. The universe was horrible on him that day. Poor thing,” he said and Ragnor started laughing again. “I’m glad he cheered up after he came over to my place,” he said and Ragnor gave him a little nod.

Ah, that too! He invited Alec over to his place immediately and Ragnor wanted to make a smug comment about it, but he knew Alec’s situation and he knew that it wasn’t like that. “Yes, yes,” was all that he said instead and Magnus glanced down again and he hummed, nodding. Ragnor was about to say something else, but Magnus was again getting lost in his thoughts and Ragnor only smiled. It was really a long time since he had last seen his friend like this and he hoped that this time it was going to work out!

* * *

“He took you to his place?!” asked Jace and Alec only nodded. Jace and Izzy were visiting his and Lydia’s place; he told them how the date went, finally. For a few days he was keeping it to himself but now he was finally ready to talk and Jace’s jaw dropped when Alec told them that Magnus took him over to his place. To Alec it didn’t really make sense why Jace was making such a big deal out of it and he only cocked his head to the side.

“Yeah, why?”

“On a first date too!” said Jace and Izzy laughed over in the back. Alec was still pretty much confused because he still didn’t understand why Jace was making such a big deal out of it and he nodded again.

“So?”

“I mean,” said Jace and then he shook his head. “That is really… on a first date, he might have been-”

“Jace, no,” said Isabelle quickly and Jace finally stopped talking as he didn’t want to say the wrong thing again and he bit down onto his lower lip and Alec arched his brow. “Alec said that the rain caught him and broke his umbrella; that was the only reason why Magnus took him back to his place. They still wanted to continue their date, but Alec was in his wet clothes and Magnus is a good person, who didn’t want Alec to be uncomfortable,” said Isabelle and Alec nodded again and then crossed his arms on top of his chest.

“Exactly,” said Alec and then he arched his brow because he was still trying to figure out why Jace was so confused and upset about the whole thing. It soon clicked, though, and Alec only rolled his eyes and started laughing. Of course, this was Jace. Of course that was where his mind would drift off to first and he clicked with his tongue. “Nothing happened,” said Alec and then he sighed. “Sadly,” he added onto that and Izzy snorted.

“Oh?”

“Wait, you wanted something to happen?” asked Jace suspiciously. “It’s your first date, you can’t-”

“I was talking about a kiss, Jace,” said Alec in the end and then started laughing again. Jace really was trying his hardest and Alec had to appreciate that. But it was still funny - Jace was getting so worked up about thinking that Magnus took him over to his place to take things to the next level? It was kind of funny. Since when was Jace his parent? But, he appreciated it. At least he knew that Jace was coming from a good place. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you or-”

“It’s fine, I’m not upset,” sad Alec and then smiled. Jace relaxed and then he nodded again. He was only looking out for his brother, that was all. He didn’t mean to be offensive in any kind of way. This was new for Alec and he didn’t want him to rush into something. He wanted Alec to be…  _ well, then again Alec was smart and old enough to know what he was doing.  _ Jace did know that, but still!

“Ah, boys,” said Izzy and then she smiled. “I’m glad the date turned out much better than it started,” said Izzy and Alec gave her a little nod and then he chewed on his lip.

“We ordered pizza,” said Alec and Jace smiled. “He has a nice place. It looks kind of old, but in a good way. I mean you can tell that he knows what he’s doing,” he said and Izzy chuckled. “Also, he still has the flower I gave to him when Lydia and I ran into him in the flower shop for the very first time,” said Alec and Jace grinned.

“Oh, la, la,” said Jace and Alec snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Not funny,” said Alec and Jace shrugged.

“Who said I was being funny?”

“Anyway,” said Alec and then he happily smiled again when he remembered how Magnus held his hand. “I wasn’t really in the best place because mom and dad found out about the divorce,” said Alec. “I know you’re not supposed to talk about too many heavy things on your first date, especially not your divorce,” said Alec and then he glanced down. “But I did… kind tell him why I wasn’t in the best of moods,” said Alec and then made a little pause. “To make me feel better he held my hand,” said Alec and his cheeks reddened. His eyes lit up and Izzy smiled softly when she saw how happy he looked. 

“How romantic,” said Izzy and waggled her eyebrows.

“His hands are so soft and pretty,” said Alec. “He wears nailpolish and he also had many rings,” he said and then sighed happily again. “I wonder if they hold any significant meaning to him. I will have to ask him some day,” he said. “Magnus is so pretty and amazing,” he carried on and Jace snorted a little bit.

“You’re so gone for him, buddy,” said Jace and Alec felt his cheeks reddening a little bit. His heart was beating much faster than before and he shrugged.

“I am,” said Alec and Izzy smiled softly. His smile faltered a little bit because his mind drifted over to his parents and he held in his breath. Izzy and Jace have probably spoken to them since then. Alec was kind of running and avoiding again, but he didn’t know what to do. Telling them the whole truth was still something that he wasn’t really sure about how to do. “By the way,” said Alec and Jace looked at him. “Did mom and dad say something about me to the two of you?” he asked carefully. Izzy and Jace glanced at each other and nodded.

“Yes,” said Izzy in the end. They didn’t want to bring it up because Alec was having such a blast on his first date, but at the same time it was good to know. “They’ve mentioned you,” she carried on and Alec pressed his lips together. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know more, but it was probably good if they would tell him what exactly they said about him. They were probably worried.

“Are they worried?”

“Yeah,” said Jace and Alec glanced down.

“Shit,” mumbled Alec. “I’m sorry, but I can’t-”

“They’re mostly just very confused,” said Isabelle and Alec glanced at her. “I know you probably think they are upset or angry with you, but they aren’t,” she said and Alec sighed under his breath and then he slowly nodded. Probably. He wasn’t sure. “They’re just very, very confused. Dad especially doesn’t understand why you’d hide it from them for such a long time,” said Isabelle and Alec felt a clump of guilt gathering in his stomach.

“Because I’m a coward,” said Alec and Jace shook his head.

“Nobody said that,” said Jace and Alec shrugged.

“But I am,” said Alec. “I should have told them from the very beginning. Not telling them and them finding out from other people just makes the whole situation worse,” said Alec and then he puffed his cheeks and glanced down. 

“In a way it’s true, yes, but they will understand when you tell them,” said Izzy and Alec looked at her. “ _ If _ you tell them, you don’t have to. I didn’t mean it like that,” she quickly said as she didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Alec sighed and then he nodded.

“Of course I want to tell them,” said Alec. “I’m just not ready, at least I don’t feel like I am,” said Alec and then in the end he ran his fingers through his hair and he nodded. “I will call them,” he then said. “And apologise again. I hope they will forgive me,” said Alec and Jace looked at him, shaking his head.

“Alec, they’re not mad,” said Jace.

“I know,” said Alec. “But I still… I want to make this right,” said Alec and then made a little pause. 

“You will,” said Izzy and gave him a little smile of encouragement. “You always do,” she said and Alec in the end gave her a little smile and he nodded. That was true, probably and he only smiled. “Now, don’t worry about it too much,” she said. Alec decided that it was true and instead of worrying, he went back to telling them more about Magnus and about their second date that they have already planned!

* * *

Alec was in his office, on his break and he eyed his phone when it buzzed. Carefully, Alec took it into his hands and his eyes widened when he saw Magnus’ number written on it. Now he had his phone number saved among his contacts properly and he even added in a little heart next to his name. Perhaps it was a little bit silly, but he liked it. It made him smile and his smile was wide when he saw Magnus’ name, immediately reading his text.

**Magnus:** Hello, darling. How are you doing today? Are you on your break yet? I miss your voice, wanna call you, but I don’t wanna interrupt anything. I’m free now for about an hour, so if you wanna chat, call me. We can text, but I would love to hear your pretty voice. Hope you’re having an amazing day. <3

Alec’s heart skipped a beat.  _ Of course he was going to call him!  _ Alec didn’t even hesitate to think about it and he quickly called Magnus! And the other picked up in a matter of seconds, Alec’s heart leaping up to his throat and his smile was wide. “Magnus! Hi!” said Alec quickly. “Yes, I’m on a break and I want to talk,” he said and he heard Magnus’ chuckle on the other side of the phone call.

Magnus was happy that Alec decided to call him. It’s been a while since he heard his voice and he really missed chatting with him like that. When Gideon would call him it was always fun and now he kind of missed that. So, he wanted to see if Alexander was free to talk to him like that and much to his luck, he was beyond happy when he saw Alexander calling his number. “Hello to you too,” said Magnus and then he sighed happily. “It’s so lovely to hear your voice again,” said Magnus. “I missed it!”

“We’ve talked this morning,” said Alec and laughed softly. Magnus pouted and he frowned -  _ well, that was a long time ago in his opinion! _

“Exactly my point, it’s been such a long time,” whined Magnus and Alec was again laughing.

“I didn’t know that you have this side as well,” said Alec and Magnus arched his brow. “I mean kind of clingy?” he asked and Magnus narrowed his eyes. Was it a bad thing? “It’s cute, I like it,” said Alec in the end and Magnus chuckled.

“Hey, I just missed my boyfriend. What’s so wrong about that?” teased Magnus and Alec’s heart almost jumped out of his chest. 

_ Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend.  _

That was the word that was buzzing in his mind and he tried his best not to make any kind of sound that would chase Magnus again, but holy shit Magnus called him his boyfriend and it made him so happy. “Nothing,” said Alec in the end and he was surprised himself how collected he sounded. Oh, he was slowly getting better at this, he was now very proud of himself! “I, um, I missed you too,” confessed Alec.

Magnus chuckled again. “I had a feeling that might have been the case,” said Magnus and a smile tugged at his lips. “So, tell me, how has your day been?” asked Magnus and Alec leaned back against his chair and he shrugged.

“Fine so far, nothing out of the ordinary,” said Alec. “Yours?” asked Alec curiously.

“Oh, fine as well. Much better now that I can talk to you,” said Magnus happily and Alec’s heart was in the process of melting agan and he hummed along. Oh, right, there was something that Lydia wanted to tell Magnus!

“By the way,” said Alec. “Lydia says hi,” he said. “Apparently the date that you organised for her went by pretty good,” he said and Magnus smiled. Oh, really? After their meeting, Magnus did talk to Lydia and got her a few dates. He was happy that it finally worked out. At least for now. “She couldn’t stop talking about Daniel,” said Alec and the other laughed softly.

“Ah, yes, Dan is a good guy. I knew that they would catch on pretty well,” said Magnus and then he hummed along happily.

“I’m glad,” said Alec and then he chewed on his lip. “That she also managed to find someone, you know?” asked Alec and then again made a little pause and sighed. Alec was glad because Lydia was finally moving on as well and things were going well for both of them and he closed his eyes for a split second. 

“Me too,” said Magnus happily and then decided to ask Alexander about their next date. “So, about our next date,” said Magnus and Alec perked up on his chair.

“Yes?” asked Alec shyly. 

“What kind of a movie do you want us to watch?” asked Magnus and Alec smiled.

“Oh, right!” said Alec. Honestly anything was good with him, he liked all kinds of genres. Also, with Magnus by his side he wondered if he would be able to watch the movie properly anyway. He wasn’t really familiar with anything popular, so he- “Surprise me?” asked Alec, putting on a little bit of cheekiness to what he said and Magnus grinend.  _ Ah, Alec was getting better at this.  _

“Okay,” said Magnus, feeling excited. 

“Yeah, sorry. I don’t really know what’s popular right now and stuff,” said Alec and Magnus grinned.

“Not to worry, I will broaden your movie palette all you want, darling,” said Magnus and Alec’s cheeks reddened again and he took a deep breath in. He loved Magnus showing new things; he couldn’t wait for their second date!


	14. Chapter 14

Magnus had a bright smile on his face as he and Alexander walked out of the cinema. They had just watched the movie and he loved it. It was a little bit of a tear jerker, but everything ended well in the end. He loved movies like that; that took him on an emotional journey, but then all ended well. He didn’t really care much for the movies that ended on a tragedy end; there was far too much of that in real life anyway, so he liked fairytale endings, if one could call them like that. Magnus had a lot of fun watching the movie with Alec; they were holding hands throughout most of the movie and he loved how Alec’s hand felt in his. It was warm and soothing; truly he loved it. Alec, on the other hand, was a little bit embarrassed as he kept looking down and he couldn’t look Magnus into his eyes.

Alec was so embarrassed, on the inside he was yelling and screaming at himself. He couldn’t believe that he let a movie make him cry like that. He was supposed to be cool and collected, but all that he was throughout the movie was a crying mess and he didn’t like it too much. In his mind it was embarrassing even if he heard Magnus sniffling a couple of times next to him. But that was nothing compared to the bawling that Alec experienced in the movie and his face was now burning with embarrassment and he was trying his hardest not to run away. Magnus probably didn’t dislike it, but still Alec wished that he could go back in time and change that. Or suggest watching some other movie.

But that didn’t mean that Alec didn’t like the movie; quite on the contrary he liked it. But he didn’t like that it made him cry and he was now trying to think of a way to speak to the other. Magnus was watching Alec, who was still facing the sidewalk instead of him and he pouted a little bit. He didn’t get all dolled up for him just to have Alec watch the sidewalk instead of him. Magnus was only joking, of course, but still he wondered why Alec was so quiet. Perhaps he didn’t like the movie? Magnus was a little bit confused and then he stepped closer to him. Alec finally looked up a little bit and Magnus smiled softly. 

_ Ah, perhaps he was embarrassed?  _ Magnus could tell that Alec’s eyes were red and puffy from crying. The poor thing was bawling his eyes next to him and just for a split second Magnus wondered if it was a good idea to take Alec to watch this movie. Biting onto his lip, Magnus leaned down and gently held Alec’s hand. He was careful how he approached the situation. “Did you like the movie?” asked Magnus softly and Alec slowly nodded and then huffed under his breath, gulping down.

“The movie was good, yes,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly.

“Good, you got me worried a bit there for a second,” said Magnus and Alec chewed on his lip. “Why so silent though?” asked Magnus and Alec shrugged and puffed his cheeks. God, how much Magnus wanted to lean forward and peck those pouty lips. He’s been wanting to kiss Alexander for weeks now, but didn’t really push it too far. Their first kiss would have to be somewhere more private and not in the middle of the street for everyone to see them, anyway. Alec was still pretty skittish when it came to public display of affection and Magnus didn’t mind it too much. He understood it all too well. 

“I don’t know,” said Alec and then huffed. “I don’t like that the movie made me cry,” he whined in the end and Magnus chuckled and smiled a little bit.

“Why not? I cried as well. It was a very emotional movie and all ended well in the end,” said Magnus with a wink and Alec’s cheeks reddened.

“Yeah, but I was sobbing there like no tomorrow,” said Alec and his cheeks burned with embarrassment even more so. “I didn’t look cool at all. Ugly sobbing and all of that,” said Alec in the end and Magnus smiled a little bit; so he was right about the hunch then. Alec was just a little bit embarrassed about crying in front of him. Magnus didn’t mind it at all and he bit down onto his lip. Alec was really too cute for his own good. Sometimes Magnus wondered if he even knew how adorable he was. Probably not. Magnus made a little pause and then he shook his head.

“There was no ugly sobbing, all I saw was an angel crying,” said Magnus and Alec snorted and rolled his eyes. Okay, but that was too cheesy even for Magnus. Magnus was well aware of how that sounded and he cringed at his own pick up line so bad, but at least it made Alec smile, so it was worth the cringe.

“That was so cheesy,” said Alec and Magnus shrugged.

“Made you smile, so it’s worth it,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. That was true, he guessed. Alec liked how much Magnus wanted to make him happy. It also made Alec want to make Magnus happy. “So, what do you want to do next?” asked Magnus and tugged on Alec’s jacket a little bit, pulling him a little bit closer and Alec hummed along. “Doubt you’d be in the mood for a meal. We’ve just both had an extra large pack of popcorn,” said Magnus and Alec laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, my stomach is full, I literally cannot stand another bite,” said Alec and Magnus nodded in agreement. “Maybe we could take a little walk around the town?” suggested Alec. “I mean walks are supposed to be romantic and stuff. Though it’s in the middle of the day and the romantic walks usually happen in the evening, but if you want-”

“Yes, let’s take the walk,” said Magnus quickly and laughed softly. Really, Alexander was too adorable!

* * *

“Hmm, I’m not sure I’ve heard of that one,” said Magnus. The two took a little stroll around the town and were now sitting on a bench in a park and were just talking to each other. Alec was just telling him about his favourite book series and Magnus didn’t hear of them yet, but he was very interested in reading. “Mind if you lend them to me? I would love to read them,” said Magnus and Alec eyes lit up.

“Yes, of course,” said Alec quickly and Magnus smiled.

“Great,” said Magnus and then sighed happily leaning against the bench and he eyed Alec, who was now thinking. About what? Magnus couldn’t tell, but for the time being he wasn’t going to ask and was just going to indulge in the moment a little bit. Just the two of them there, the park was almost empty anyway. It was a peaceful weekend; he loved it. With Alexander by his side, there wasn’t anywhere else that he would be rather at. Alec, on the other hand, was still thinking hard. 

Alec was thinking and looking at Magnus every now and then. What was he thinking about? Magnus and how to kiss him. He wanted to get the first kiss on their second date, but he didn’t know how or when. Izzy and Jace told him that he would know when would be the right moment, but every moment was right for Alec. If it was up to him he would be kissing Magnus 24/7. So, there he was, sitting and trying to work out how to approach the situation. The two were almost alone in the park, nobody was really paying attention to the two of them and Alec wanted to kiss Magnus so badly. He wanted to feel those lips moving again his own and he let out a huffed breath. They were probably so soft. 

Alec’s heart skipped a beat and then he rubbed his palms together. Magnus looked at him and took that as a sign that Alec was maybe cold. It wasn’t too cold, but they’ve been out for a while now and maybe they could change the location and go somewhere else. How about the mall? Magnus would love to take Alexander for a little shopping spree. “Feeling cold?” asked Magnus and Alec shook his head.

Magnus smiled softly and then leaned closer to him, placing his hands over Alec’s and he hummed. They really did feel warm to the touch. As he moved closer, Alec’s body reacted on its own. Alec moved quickly, like lightning. When Magnus was about to pull back, Alec was over at his side of the bench and he quickly pressed his lips against Magnus’ and as quickly as he kissed him, he pulled back. It wasn’t even a proper kiss, more of a peck on the lips. A simple touch of their lips, but Alec’s body heard up immensely and then he pressed his lips together and looked at Magnus.

Magnus was a little bit surprised, he didn’t expect Alexander to just kiss him out of the blue. He knew Alec wasn’t really spontaneous so he was really surprised.  _ In a very good, good way.  _ Alec pulled away too fast, Magnus couldn’t even return the kiss and Magnus smiled when he looked at Alec, who was now looking at him as well. He kind of expected Alec to shy away after that, but he didn’t and he liked that. Magnus licked across his lip and Alec was waiting for him to say something. Magnus was happy that Alec was now more comfortable about their relationship and showing it in public. Alec smiled shyly and leaned a bit closer, wanting to kiss Magnus. Properly that time.

“Again,” said Magnus and Alec cheered up. “Come here,” breathed out Magnus and reached out with his hand. He gently cupped Alec’s face and leaned in, pressing their lips together. Alec quickly reacted to the kiss and slowly moved his lips against Magnus’, who smiled into their kiss a little bit before he dove in for more. Magnus was thinking about how it would feel to kiss his boyfriend and the actual feeling actually topped off his expectations. He expected Alec to be shy, but he was again surprised when Alec kept kissing him. Then again this was something that he was denying himself from for years now and now that he finally got to kiss someone that he was really into he couldn’t stop.

Kissing Magnus felt good, kissing him filled him with a sense of euphoria, happiness. He felt like was floating and melting at the same time. His body was heating up, his heart was full and about to jump out of his chest. It was a new feeling that he loved it and he didn’t know that such a simple kiss was able to make him feel that many things. He suddenly understood why people loved kissing so much. So far he never got it, but now kissing was his favourite thing to do and Magnus gasped softly when he felt Alec’s hand going behind his neck, holding him softly as they kissed. It was Magnus that broke the kiss, giving Alec one final peck on top of his lips before he pulled back and Alec gasped softly, slowly opening his eyes when they parted.

Alec looked dazed and Magnus loved it. “More,” whispered Alec and Magnus snickered, but he kissed him again.

* * *

“Thank you for coming,” said Maryse softly and Alec was trying his best to remain calm. He was currently home; he and Maryse were the only ones there. Robert was currently out with Max as he took him to practice. 

Alec was nervous when his mother called him and asked him if he could come over. Alec knew whx, they had a lot of things to talk about, but he still wasn’t sure if he was completely ready to be honest with his parents. It was a horrible thing to think, Alec was well aware of that fact, but he also had a feeling that he was going to get yelled at. At least Robert wasn’t there, which was good. He knew how pissed off his father was the last time and Alec wasn’t so sure if his father would be accepting of the truth anyway. 

“Um, yeah,” said Alec. Silence fell between them and the tension was so thick between the two of them that one could easily cut it with a knife. But Alec really didn’t know what to expect. He knew that his mother would want to talk to him about again, but he just didn’t know what to tell her. He kind of was under the impression that she wouldn’t understand him and it was hard to get out of that mindset. He was trying to have an open mind about it; his parents were nice people, he was making this way too complicated on himself. 

“Alec,” said Maryse and Alec slowly glanced at her. “Is there something you want to tell me?” she asked softly and Alec chewed on his lip. Of course there was and because he didn’t want to tell any more lies he ended up nodding. Maryse gave him a soft smile again and then tried again. “You know you can tell me anything,” said Maryse. “About the divorce,” she said and Alec tensed up. “I don’t mean to pry too much, I’m just so very confused, honey,” said Maryse softly and Alec huffed under his breath,

“I know, mom,” said Alec and then made a little pause. “Lydia didn’t do anything bad, I promise. It’s my fault that it didn’t work out. I should have never proposed in the first place,” he said and Maryse looked surprised. “I’m in the wrong here, I swear.”

“Okay,” said Maryse patiently and then nodded. 

Maybe he should just come out and say the truth; it was the least that he could do. His mother deserved to know the truth and then he pressed his lips together. “It’s complicated, but then again, it’s not really that complicated. I’ve been hiding something from all of you,” he said and then made another pause. It was hard. “And hiding it makes it seem like I’m embarrassed of this or ashamed, but I’m really not, it’s just,” he said and then chewed on his lip. Maryse was listening to her son struggling to tell her what was bothering him and it broke her heart, it really did. As a mother all she wanted to provide her children was comfort and happiness. Even if they were grown ups, it didn’t really matter. So to see Alec struggle so much it really was-

“It’s okay, take your time and-”

“I’m gay,” said Alec suddenly. It came out of nowhere, he didn’t even know if he was ready, but he couldn’t keep it in anymore and Maryse’s eyes widened. The shock was apparent on her face and Alec didn’t know what to think about it. He hoped that she wasn’t going to be too disappointed. It would hurt if she was.

“I-”

“I’m so sorry mom,” said Alec and bowed his head down.

Maryse didn’t know what to say. She didn’t expect this, she didn’t expect Alec to come out with such a truth. But did that mean that she now thought of him any different? Of course not, she would love him no matter what. That wasn’t why she was so confused. A part of her confusion grew in the fact that Alec got married despite knowing? It didn’t make sense to her and she pressed her lips together. Alec’s hands were shaking and the longer that his mother remained quiet, the more it hurt. 

“But why… the marriage if you know-”

“I wanted to, um,” said Alec and then shrugged. “You’ve always wanted this for me, no? A good job, a good wife - the picture perfect life and it was something that I was trying to fit in,” said Alec and then chewed on his lip. “I know how happy you were when I told you that I proposed to Lydia, you thought she was perfect for me and I couldn’t… I was selfish and afraid to tell you all the truth. In the end I just ended up hurting too many people. Lydia has been so supportive, but it’s still not fair. It’s not fair that I let you and dad down,” said Alec and ran his fingers through his hair nervously. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, I really didn’t,” said Alec and then looked at his mother as if he was asking for forgiveness. 

“But what about you?” asked Maryse and her voice broke a little bit. Alec was talking about hurting the others, but to her it seemed that he was the one that was hurting the most for so many years. For so many years he was trying to fit in and for what? To make her and Robert happy? That wasn’t fair. She swallowed back a little sob and Alec’s eyes widened. “You’ve been the one that has been hurting the most,” she said and then looked down. “I didn’t… I didn’t know you were under such pressure. All your father and I wanted for you was to be happy not,” said Maryse and Alec swallowed and felt his eyes welling up. “Honey, I’m so sorry,” she said, stood up and wrapped her arms around him.

Now she understood why Alec didn’t come to them - he didn’t want to disappoint them. Alec wanted to say something, he wanted to tell his mother that this wasn’t her fault, but then she hugged him and he couldn’t speak up as he was too choked up. He thought that he was finally over this whole thing, but now that he finally had his mother whispering into his ear that everything was okay he teared up again, his little sniffles being heard in the room. But it was a good feeling, he was finally one step closer to finally being out to everyone and that was a very, very good feeling.


	15. Chapter 15

“My mom was really supportive about it,” said Alec happily and Magnus gave him a bright smile, nodding. Magnus was very happy to hear about Alec’s coming out to his mother, he was happy to hear that the woman was so supportive of his son. That was very good news, he could still remember how sad Alexander was about it on their first date. Also, not to mention, how proud he was of Alec. He came so far and he was so very proud of him. Alec leaned back against the couch and then gazed into Magnus’ eyes, who was happily observing him. The matchmaker slowly reached with his hand out and he gently placed it against Alec’s cheek, the back of his finger gently caressing his cheek and Alec nuzzled into the touch, Magnus chuckling. Alec truly was like a kitten sometimes. So fond of affection. 

“I’m so happy that all went well in the end,” said Magnus and Alec happily nodded. “I had a feeling that she would react like this,” said Magnus and Alec shyly smiled. “How about your father? Or you haven’t told him yet?” asked Magnus. He didn’t mean to push too much, he was simply wondering and Alec glanced down, shaking his head.

“My dad’s an entire opposite story,” said Alec and then chewed on his lip. “I haven’t told him yet. I think he’s still upset about the divorce,” said Alec and he sighed. “He really liked Lydia and given that I was hiding it from them for such a long time maybe he just needs a bit more time,” said Alec and then made another pause. Magnus gave him a little nod. It was okay, everyone needed a bit of time to get adjusted to the news. Especially if it was big news like that. “I’ll give him a bit more time,” said Alec.

“That’s a good idea,” said Magnus. “I’m sure he will come around,” said Magnus and winked. “He’s your father after all, you’ll see,” said Magnus and Alec gave him a mleek smile. Yeah, that was true, but at the same time Magnus didn’t really know how his father was. He was really stubborn; the side that Alec had as well. But Robert was even more stubborn and didn’t really talk about feelings. He usually came around about things, but still; it was different from his mother and that was what worried him.

Maryse did tell him that he wasn’t angry with him; she told him that Robert was just worried. But Alec apologised more than once. He sent a few texts and he tried calling, but he never picked up. That was how Alec got the message; his father needed some space and time, which he understood, but he wished that Robert would be more open up about it. If only he wasn’t completely shutting him out. It made Alec feel uneasy even if he did know that Robert didn’t mean anything bad with it. It was just how he was. It still hurt though and Alec sighed sadly. Magnus flinched.

Shit, he didn’t want to make Alec feel about asking him about his father. Right now Alec was so happy when he was telling him about his coming out experience to his mom and he went ahead and ruined it all. “Angel, I’m sorry,” said Magnus and Alec looked up at him, not really getting why the other was apologising to him. Magnus leaned closer and then pressed his lips together. “I ruined a perfectly happy moment for you. I shouldn’t have asked about your father,” said Magnus and glanced down.

Alec shrugged and then shook his head. “No, it’s okay,” said Alec and then made a little pause. “I’m not really sad, I’m just thinking about it,” said Alec and then Magnus sighed in relief a little bit, but still felt bad. 

“Still, I made you think about something sad, which shouldn’t happen on our date,” said Magnus with a pout and then he smiled. “But not to worry I will make it up to you,” he promised and Alec chuckled. The two of them were over at Magnus’ place again and Alec. It was a little date, if one could call it like that. They were just chilling together, hanging out. Alec liked coming over to Magnus’ place. It was very different from the one that Alec and Lydia owned; that one was very modern and Alec liked it. But Magnus’ was just so much more… he didn’t even know how to explain it. But it made him feel warm and welcome. It was a good feeling and he loved being there. 

Alec raised a brow - Magnus was going to make up how? He was very interested and he slowly looked over to Magnus and then he slowly came closer to him. “Yes?” asked Alec and Magnus smiled. “I’m listening - how will you make up to me?” asked Alec curiously and Magnus could sense a sound of cheekiness behind that voice as well. It was good to see Alec like this; his true colours coming out a little bit more and Magnus dragged his tongue over his lower lip.

“I may have an idea… or two,” said Magnus slowly and leaned closer to his boyfriend as well.

Alec felt shivers going down his spine when Magnus leaned closer to him and he pressed his lips together; being so close to Magnus still had a big impact on him and he bit down onto his lower lip and shyly lifted his gaze again. Alec was still so shy, Magnus loved it. But even if Alec was shy, he never hesitated to tell him what he truly wanted. That was what he liked about him; he was really blunt when it came to things. Magnus liked that Alec knew how to stand his ground when the situation needed him to do that.

“And what might that be?” asked Alec happily, but curiously. Magnus grinned all the way up to his ears and winked.

“Wouldn’t you want to find out, hmm?” asked Magnus slyly and Alec was about to point it out for him that yes, yes he would indeed like to find out what he had in mind. Why else would he be asking him? But then he realised that Magnus was flirting with him and he chuckled a little bit and hummed a little bit.

“Can I guess?”

“Oh, feeling adventurous, I see,” said Magnus and winked.

“Well-”

“If you get it right, I’ll double the reward I have for you,” teased Magnus and Alec chuckled. Alec liked how fast Magnus can go from being worried to teasing him, but not in a bad way. It was still trying to make him feel better, but didn’t dwell on the sadness too much. He liked that about him, Magnus knew how to adjust on the moment. He could read people’s emotions well. Unlike Alec, who was still working on it.

“Does it involve...” said Alec and then cleared his throat a bit, feeling his cheeks reddening a little bit. But he couldn’t chicken out now! Magnus was going to double the reward if he was going to guess correctly and Alec was pretty sure that he was on a good path to getting his double reward. “Kissing me?” asked Alec in the end and Magnus smiled all the way up to his ears. Ah, Alec was really too much for him. Did he even know what kind of an impact he had on him? Did he know how adorable he was? Probably not and it was a crime. Magnus wished that Alec could once see himself the way that Magnus saw him. 

“Maybe,” said Magnus with a wink.

Alec perked up.  _ Maybe?  _ Was there more? Alec gulped and his heart started hammering against his chest. Apart from kissing, they didn’t really do much else, but Alec was very keen on learning about other aspects of their relationship. He was very, very interested in that. His cheeks reddened even more so and he swallowed.

“S-so you had something else on your mind?”

“Mmm?”

“More than kissing?” asked Alec and Magnus had to say that he was quite surprised when he heard that coming out of Alec's mouth and then he pressed his lips together. Magnus wasn't sure if Alec was aware of it but he was really good at tempting him and he had to think about what he was going to say next. 

What Magnus had in mind was actually treating Alec to a home cooked dinner that would make him forget about all of the troubles. Maybe the two could cook together. Magnus thought that it could be fun but he could clearly see that Alec wanted to have something else for dinner. Magnus chuckled softly when he saw anticipation in Alec's eyes and he huffed under his breath. "Well," said Magnus and Alec pressed his lips together. "I was thinking that maybe we could prepare the dinner together but I see that you've already worked up your appetite for something else," teased Magnus and Alec let out a little shriek.

_ Ah; so that was what Magnus had in mind.  _ Aled wanted to run away because he felt really embarrassed. He couldn't believe that he just said that. What was Magnus going to think of him now? Alec gulped and then he opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out and he just looked away. Magnus chuckled and then he gently cupped Alec's chin and lifted his gaze up. "I'm sorry," mumbled Alec and Magnus kissed his cheek; shaking his head.

"Don't be," said Magnus. "Makes me happy, you know?"

"Yeah?"

"To know that you're so eager about taking our relationship to the next level," said Magnus and Alec gulped. He was happy that Magnus didn't think he was weird about it. "When the time is ready," said Magnus and Alec quickly nodded. 

"Yes," said Alec shyly.

"So how about it?" asked Magnus.

"What?"

"Wanna help me cook dinner?" asked Magnus and Alec quickly nodded.

"Yes!" he said happily.

* * *

"Mmm; this was so good," said Magnus and Alec nodded. They cooked up a pretty amazing dinner and he was completely stuffed but he didn't want to have it any other way. It was so much fun to be cooking with Magnus. Usually on his own he was pretty lost in the kitchen but with Magnus' help all worked out pretty well for both of them.

“Yeah, I had fun,” said Alec happily. Magnus was glad to hear this; he was happy that Alexander ended up having fun.

“Indeed,” said Magnus and clasped his hands together. The kitchen was a mess, though, but he was going to worry about that later. For now he was going to enjoy the time with Alexander that he had and he rubbed his palms happily together. They were again in the living room, cuddling together on the sofa, their tummies full and Magnus was really in heaven. “Wish I had something sweet to offer you,” said Magnus and Alec perked up.

“You mean a dessert,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled.

“Yes, Alexander, a dessert,” said Magnus and Alec hummed in reply. Well, he knew one way that he could serve some yummy dessert for both of them. As Magnus was happily enjoying his time on the sofa, Alec turned to Magnus and cupped his cheek. Magnus arched his brow, but he nuzzled into the touch and happily sighed. He wasn’t going to complain; he loved every bit of it. Alec cleared his throat.

“I’ll treat you to some dessert,” said Alec.

“Oh?” asked Magnus and before he managed to ask what Alec had in mind, Alec’s lips were already pressing up against his own. Magnus chuckled when he realised what kind fo a dessert Alec had in mind and he happily moaned into their kiss and pulled Alec down with him, pulling him on top of him and Alec didn’t mind it at all. He kept on kissing Magnus until his head started to feel fuzzy, spinning a little bit but after taking a few seconds to catch his breath, Alec was kissing Magnus again, deepening their kiss and Magnus moaned again.

Alec discovered that Magnus made pretty sounds when they would kiss like that. He needed to kiss Magnus more like this; he wanted to hear so much more, but for now it was enough, pulling back and Magnus licked across his lower lip. “Mmm,” moaned Magnus and Alec looked at him. “I like how you think,” he said with a wink. “I want seconds,” he said and waggled his eyebrows.

Alec was more than happy to serve seconds of his dessert and Magnus was happily giggling when Alec wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in for a hug. 


	16. Chapter 16

“I still don’t see how that’s the reason for divorce,” demanded Robert. Alec was over at his parents’ house - he didn’t intend to have this conversation that day with his father. He was coming over to spend some time with his younger brother; he and Max were supposed to hang out a little bit and spend some  _ brother _ time together. Max told him that Robert wouldn’t be home and that was why Alec came. But when he came, Robert was there as well; apparently his plans didn’t work out and he was going to be staying at home. Alec thought that Robert would ignore him like usual, but he started asking questions about his divorce right away and Alec was both to nervous and irritated. He was irritated that his father was prying so much into his personal business; he was a freaking thirty year old adult, why did it matter so much to his father what he did in personal life? Annoyed, Alec tried his best to stay calm, but at the same time- 

“You wouldn’t understand it,” said Alec and tried not to roll his eyes.

“Do you know how humiliating it is to find out from other people?” snapped Robert and Alec felt his mouth twitching. He was slowly starting to get fed up with this whole thing. He didn’t want to keep it a secret anymore, he could feel that the truth was slowly coming out soon. He had to watch what he was saying, but then again, why shouldn’t he tell the truth? Alec was finally brave enough; he was surrounded by people that loved and accepted him for who he truly was. So what if his father wouldn’t be as accepting as others? Alec didn’t feel scared anymore, he was only annoyed at this point.

Because he came to realise something - what would his father do to him, anyway? He couldn’t do anything - Alec was an adult, living on his own, he had his job and he was pretty darn good at it. He made a decent living, Robert couldn’t do anything to him. He wasn’t a teen, Alec felt untouchable and he was quite surprised if he was being honest; he didn’t expect to be this brave when it came to facing his father. Perhaps this was what was supposed to happen! Alec had been working on himself for months now, building himself up and he finally did it! He was proud of himself and it felt pretty good -  _ not giving a flying fuck what others thought about him!  _

“I have the right to my own privacy,” said Alec and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. He realised that perhaps his choice of words wasn’t the best. He did have a right to his own privacy but when it came to something as big as his marriage, he knew that he owed his parents a proper explanation. But not with that kind of approach. Alec wasn’t going to open up to Robert when he kept prying and pushing like that. Alec was pissed off and he clicked with his tongue and then rolled his eyes. That seemed to piss Robert off even more and he banged against the table with his own fist and Alec placed his hands on top of his sides.

They were in the kitchen - Alec was standing over by the fridge while his father was sitting down in front of the table and was trying not to snap. Alec could tell that his father was trying, but this wasn’t good enough for him. Alec took a deep breath in. “And after everything I did for you,” said Robert and there was another stab of guilt at Alec’s chest and he pressed his lips together. “You should be more grateful,” he said and Alec rubbed the back of his neck. Wasn’t he always grateful? All that he wanted to do was to make his parents proud; he wanted to fit int othe mold of life they wanted him to have so badly that he-

Alec’s breath shook because that added onto the anger. If his father only knew how unfair that was. “All I ever did was try to make you proud, dad,” said Alec and then shook his head. “Why do you think I got married in the first place? I wasn’t fair to Lydia, that is the only person that I should ever feel sorry for,“ said Alec.  _ And himself,  _ was what Magnus would say, but Alec didn’t really see it like that. He doubted he would ever forgive himself for proposing and getting married. He kind of took away three years out of Lydia’s life and even if she didn’t see it like that, Alec was forever going to feel guilty about it. That being said, he wasn’t going to let his father run his mouth so much. “I was trying to make you happy,” hissed Alec.

“ _ What? _ ” snapped Robert. “Don’t put this blame on me,” said Robert. “I didn’t force you to get married and also you should be more grateful. Lydia is the best thing that has ever happened to you,” said Robert. Now he was just being hurtful on purpose and Alec knew it. His eyes darkened and then he dragged his tongue over his lip. “Poor girl, you completely ruined her,” said Robert and Alec took a deep breath in. 

Alec knew that what he did to Lydia was unfair, but  _ to ruin her?  _ She seemed pretty happy with her new boyfriend, which was pretty great! Alec has met him a few times and he had only good things to say about him. Alec made sure that he let him know that he better treat Lydia right, which so far he did. Alec could see the way she looked at him; they were truly in love and that was all that mattered to Alec. Alec was also happy with Magnus; happier than ever if he was being honest and he wasn’t going to let his father walk over that. 

“I didn’t-”

“You’ve hurt her so much,” said Robert.

“We’ve worked this out,” said Alec.

“How can you be so selfish?” snapped Robert. 

“You’re the one that’s selfish, dad,” said Alec. “You’re only thinking about yourself when you don’t even consider how  _ I  _ feel,” said Alec and then stepped closer to him. “Don’t you think I know how much I fucked up by proposing and getting married?!” asked Alec. “I’m reminded of that every single day, thank you very much,” said Alec. “But I won’t let  _ you _ tell me what I should have done,” said Alec. “I was so scared of coming out to you that I panicked and proposed,” said Alec. “You don’t even know how it’s been on me, trying to fit in and pretend to be someone that I wasn’t,” said Alec and then finally stopped talking when he realised what he said. He wasn’t really paying attention to what was coming out of his mouth so when he realised what he managed to say in that outburst of anger he took a breather.

_ He did, he managed to come out to his father.  _ Well, that is if he was going to understand what he wanted to tell him? Alec was holding in his breath and Robert was seen processing all the information that he had just gotten. His heart jumped and he felt his stomach making a little flop, but he didn’t want to take it back. He stood his ground and he didn’t care for what was going to happen next. It would be nice if Robert was going to be supportive about it, but if not, Alec didn’t really…  _ he didn’t care.  _ Well, he tried not to care too much about it and he swallowed thickly when he saw his father getting ready to say something.

“What?” asked Robert and his voice was different now. It wasn’t loud anymore; he wasn’t shouting, but Alec could sense that he wasn’t happy about the news either. That was fair, he was prepared to give Robert the time to get used to it. Probably he wasn’t going to get a hug like he got one from Maryse. His father was a stubborn man that needed time to process and learn new things. That was all fine if I was going to be respectful about it. Alec was trying his best not to shout too much, but it was hard and then he swallowed thickly.

“I said what I said; I’m gay,” said Alec and Robert’s eyes widened again. “You don’t have to say anything right now. If you need time to process it all, I get it but I thought you should know the truth,” said Alec. He was speaking quieter and more collected now that he finally said what was on his mind. But he still wasn’t backing down and he kept his guard up.

Robert didn’t say anything for a long time. Alec could tell that he was conflicted about it; that wasn’t a happy face that he was making. Alec pressed his lips together and then he cleared his throat. Okay, the silence was slowly starting to get to him. He didn’t know why his father was so quiet about it; he could say something about it, no? Even if it wasn’t positive, Alec didn’t like that Robert was only sitting there and not saying anything. It made the whole thing even more nerve wrecking. 

“Um, please say something?” asked Alec. 

Alec’s voice was small and shaking a little bit. He wished he could be more calm about it, but he couldn’t and he puffed his cheeks and placed his hands together and then flinched a bit when his father finally moved. He stood up without saying anything and then he marched towards the door. Alec didn’t know what to do - he was just going to leave? That wasn’t something that he was ready for! At least he thought that he would get some sort of reaction, but Robert didn’t say anything. He stood up, marched to the door and then left the kitchen. Alec huffed under his breath and then flinched again when he heard the front door slamming shut and he pressed his lips together.

_ So that was his reply then.  _ Alec couldn’t say and lie that it didn’t hurt just a little bit. It did hurt, but he was glad that he finally got courageous enough to tell his father about it and then he looked towards the kitchen window.  _ Well, that sucked.  _ Then again not all coming out experiences were nice and Alec knew it. He felt his heart dropping a little bit and chills went down his spine. “Well, that’s that I guess,” said Alec and forced on a little smile. At least the truth was fully out now and he didn’t have to pretend anymore. Well there was still-

“Wait till he finds out that I have a boyfriend,” said a voice and the kitchen door flung open. Alec jumped a bit and then he looked around, eyes wide when he saw his little brother stepping inside and his mouth hung open, cocking his head to the side.  _ Wait, what did he say?  _ Right, Max was home, but Alec didn’t get to see him that day because Robert got into his way right away. “Well,  _ had _ ,” said Max and shrugged. “Didn’t work out,” sighed Max and then crossed his arms when he saw the look on Alec’s face. “What?” asked the sixteen year old.

Max happened to overhear what was being said in the kitchen; he was waiting for Robert to leave so that he could go over to Alec. Alec, on the other hand, was trying his best to- Did Max just say that he had a  _ boyfriend?  _ His brother was dating? Well, he was 16! _ They grow up so fast!  _ Alec was- “You have a boyfriend?” blurted out Alec in the middle of it all and Max snorted and then dropped his hands down and placed them on top of his sides and then he shook his head.

“Had, he dumped me,” said Max. “It’s fine, he’s an asshole.”

“But,” said Alec. “You’re into guys?”

Max snorted;  _ ah that was what interested him the most?  _ “Yep,” said Max. “And girls and everyone else on the gender spectrum,” he carried on. “I mean I don’t really care about gender,” said Max nonchalantly, saying like it wasn’t a big deal. Mainly because to him it really wasn’t. Alec was jealous; he wished he could be more like that. Well, he was now, slowly getting there at least. But when he was Max’s age he cared a lot about it. 

Alec was slowly starting to get the whole picture and he smiled softly. He had no idea though! “So, you’re-”

“No idea, man, I’m still figuring it out,” said Max. “I don’t really care about labels, but yeah if you’d want to put a label on it I’m pan,” he said simply. Max then took a few seconds of silence and then looked up at Alec. “Huh, you’re the first person besides Madzie that I told this,” he said and Alec’s smile widened. Alec had completely forgotten about Robert! This with Max was a lot more important.

“Really?” asked Alec and Max nodded.

“Yep. Feels pretty good though,” said Max and then already moved to the next topic. “Should we order pizza?”

“Forget about pizza now,” said Alec and Max arched his brow. “You said you  _ had _ a boyfriend,” said Alec and Max nodded, arching his brow. “Are you okay?” asked Alec and Max nodded slowly.

“Yep,” said Max, knowing where Alec aimed with that. “I cried for about a few minutes then I realised that he’s not worth it. Then got pissed off, threw away his jacket that he left at my locker and moved on,” said Max. “Well, I wanted to burn the jacket, but Madzie made me see that it's really not worth getting in trouble for it,” said Max.  _ Madzie was Max’s best friend.  _ “What?” he asked again when he saw that Alec was only staring at him.  _ Teenagers were really something else these days,  _ thought Alec.

“You sure process things fast,” said Alec and laughed.

“Well why give him any time out of my day if he’s stupid?” asked Max. Alec couldn’t argue with that logic; Max had a point and he smiled softly. Alec nodded in the end and Max got a bit serious. “Are  _ you _ okay?” asked the teen carefully and Alec glanced at him. Alec nodded and then puffed his cheeks. “Dad was an ass,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll be fine,” said Alec and Max gave him a little smile and a nod. “So, um, pizza?” asked Alec in the end and Max sighed in relief -  _ finally they were done talking about their feelings!  _ He was starving. 

But at the same time Max was happy that he got to tell someone about it. And as for Robert - Max was going to make sure that their old man was going to stop being an idiot about it!


	17. Chapter 17

“Alexander,” said Magnus, who was visibly shaking with anger and Alec arched his brow, nodding. “Is it okay if I have a little talk with your father?” asked Magnus, trying to calm down, but it was impossible. Alec told him what happened the other day when he finally came out to his father. 

Technically, Robert didn’t say anything, but it bothered Magnus. Alec didn’t seem too phased. It hurt a bit, but at the same time, he didn’t really worry about it too much. He was pretty sure that his father was going to come around. He spent way too much time worrying and trying to make his father happy and all in all Alec couldn’t be bothered anymore. He was too tired to care about it. Why worry and think about it when he had so much more that he could look forward to and be happy about it? Being with Magnus made him completely forget about the anger and disappointment he should probably be feeling. But he wasn’t and he was kind of happy and surprised at the same time. 

Alec gave him a little smile and he waved with his hand. “It’s fine, Magnus, I don’t even care what he thinks, I mean it,” said Alec and shrugged. 

Alexander said that, but it was Magnus that cared a whole lot more and he didn’t like what he heard. Robert should show support and he pressed his lips together, chewing on his lower lip and he then glanced at Alec. It was true that he didn’t look sad, but was it really okay? Magnus wasn’t so sure and then he pressed his lips together again. Then again if Alec said that he shouldn’t worry about it, then he should respect his decision and forget about it? That was if the old man wouldn’t do something stupid as shut Alec completely out of his life. 

Magnus took a deep breath in and gulped; he was just feeling protective of Alec. And Alec knew that; it made him smile to see Magnus care so much, chuckling and he stepped closer to him, wrapped his arms around Magnus’ waist and gave him a little chuckle. 

“I don’t waste our precious time talking and thinking about him, it’s really not worth it in the long run,” said Alec and Magnus nodded slowly. Yes, that was a good point to make and then he hummed along.

“I hear you,” said Magnus and then placed his arms around Alec’s neck and stepped a bit closer, their foreheads touching. The two were over at Alec’s place at the time being; Lydia was out with her friends, so that gave them the perfect opportunity to spend some time together. They were always hanging out over at Magnus’ place, so it was nice to change it up a little bit and Magnus was happily looking around the place. 

“Let’s do something fun instead,” said Alec and Magnus raised his eyebrows.  _ Oh, did he say let’s do something fun instead, huh?  _ Magnus wasn’t sure what Alec had in mind, but he was all ears and his eyes were curiously looking into Alec’s. The other chuckled when he saw that Magnus’ eyes were literally shining and he snorted a little bit, swallowing thickly and then he hummed along, looking around the place and his heart skipped a bit. “I mean we’re all alone, right?” asked Alec and then held in his breath.  _ Oh, Magnus wasn’t going to turn him down this time, right?  _ Alec hoped not because they’ve been going out for a while now and it would really suck if they-

“Oh, yes,” said Magnus and chuckled when he saw how red Alec’s cheeks turned into and he pressed a light kiss on top of his lips and waggled his eyebrows as he licked across his lips when the two parted and gave him a little wink. “What did you have in mind?” asked Magnus and Alec’s head was already spinning. Oh, Alec needed to start thinking so that something dumb wasn’t going to come out of his mouth, but all he could focus on was how pretty Magnus’ eyes were. 

Alec gulped and then slowly moved back, but didn’t pull back completely. Instead, he took Magnus’ hand into his own and started guiding him towards the guest room where he was staying. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but if something was going to happen, he wanted that it would happen there. Magnus was happily following along and his smile grew when he saw where Alec was guiding him to. At first he didn’t know why they needed to move somewhere else, but when he saw that it was Alec’s room, there was a little smile on his lips and he winked. 

“This is, um, my room,” said Alec and then he huffed under his breath, clasping his hands together. Perhaps he only wanted to show Magnus a piece of the apartment that was only his and Magnus slowly stepped inside and looked around the room. Even for a guest room, it was pretty large and he gave Alec a little smile as he watched the other closing the door and slowly stepping closer.

“That I see,” said Magnus and then giggled when he saw that Alec was awkwardly standing over by the door. He was about to step closer, but then he stepped back and Magnus pouted a little bit. “What do you wanna do now that you’ve lured me into your room?” teased Magnus. Of course he didn’t mean it seriously and Alec slowly lifted his gaze and snorted, stepping closer to Magnus.

“I have an idea or two,” said Alec and then pressed his lips together. Magnus snickered and then he sat down onto the edge of Alec’s bed. He didn’t know what else to do. He wanted to sit over at the desk, but there was only one chair in the room and also sitting on the chair while there was a comfy bed to sit on seemed such a waste. Alec slowly moved closer to Magnus again and he had to brace himself because not only that Magnus was  _ in _ his room, he was sitting on his freaking  _ bed.  _ Alec was having a hard time staying collected.

“Is there where you wanted me?” joked Magnus and Alec snapped back to reality.

“I mean I’m not opposed to it,” joked Alec back and sat down next to Magnus, but he kept quite a bit of distance between the two of them and Magnus pouted. Why so distant? Didn’t want Alec to do  _ things _ like he said before? Magnus chuckled and then he sighed happily, but he kept the distance. He didn’t want to do something that Alec wouldn’t like. Yet, it was Alec in the end that moved closer to Magnus, much to his delight. Alec grinned and then he clasped his hands together. 

“I like your room,” said Magnus and Alec arched his brow.

“Yes?”

“Yes, it seems cozy, I like it here,” said Magnus happily and then looked towards the desk. Oh, it was filled with so many heavy and big books - that was all connected to law? Probably. Also Alec had a laptop on there and he hummed along. The room was neat and clean; Alec was definitely a clean person. Magnsu strived to be like that as well, but there were times that he didn’t really care about order and there were times that his place was a mess. Cleaning wasn’t his forte. Magnus snapped back to reality when the bed shifted again and Alec moved a bit close to him. 

“Well, that’s good,” said Alec and Magnus snorted.

“Mmm,” hummed Magnus in delight and then placed his hand on top of Alec’s, who prettily blushed. Just a little bit, but the blush was visible to the eye and Magnus leaned against Alec. Alec was calculating his options - what he should do next. Well, for starters he would like to be kissing Magnus at right this moment. And that was what he was going to do! It was Alec that started leaning in first, but it was Magnus that captured Alec’s lips between his own first and Alec gasped softly against Magnus’ lips.

Ah, he still couldn’t get enough of Magnus’ kisses; they were so perfect. They filled his heart with glee and happiness and he hugged Magnus’ face with both of his hands as they kept kissing. Alec leaned his head to the side a little bit and licked across Magnus’ lower lip, who gladly parted his lips and allowed Alec to deepen the kiss. Magnus slightly moane when he felt Alec’s hot and wet tongue slowly exploring and tasting.

Magnus stayed perfectly still and allowed Alec to do as he pleased. He felt his left hand slowly sliding behind his neck and bring him even closer. Magnus slowly climbed into Alec’s lap, their lips not once breaking contact and Alec groaned when he felt the weight of Magnus’ body pressing him down against the mattress and Magnus smiled, wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck, while the other’s large arms went around his waist.

Oh, Magnus felt so small in Alec’s lap. There wasn’t much size difference between the two of them; Alec was only slightly taller than him, but he somehow managed to make him small. Magnus always melted against Alec’s strong body frame, slowly placing his hands on top of Alec’s shoulders and then down onto his chest. When Alec felt Magnus’ wandering hands he gasped and broke the kiss for a few moments. Alec looked dazed once they pulled back and Magnus smiled, kissing the tip of his nose.

“Your heart is beating so fast,” mumbled Magnus against his lips and Alec shuddered slightly when he felt Magnus’ hot breath against his lips. Alec swallowed and didn’t give him a verbal reply. Instead he kissed Magnus again, who chuckled slightly but allowed for the next kiss to come. 

“Mmm, Alexander,” growled Magnus when he felt Alec’s teeth sinking into his lower lip, gently sucking on it. Magnus’ body lit up like a candle and he slowly pushed Alec back against the bed and then pressed his lips together. Seeing Alexander underneath him, laying against the bed, with the prettiest flush ever spread upon his cheeks - it was a sight that he loved to behold and he couldn’t get enough of it. Magnus licked his lower lip and gulped. “Is this okay?” asked Magnus and Alec laughed breathlessly.

“Shut up and kiss me again,” said Alec and Magnus laughed as well, dipping down for another kiss. They were only fooling around; Alec felt like a teenager again, truly. Messing around with someone he actually liked, his heart was pounding; this was the first time that he experienced this kind of feeling. The thrill that he felt spreading across his body - he couldn’t wait until they would really take their relationship to the next level.

* * *

“I’m sorry, but dad did what now?” asked Isabelle when Alec told her that he managed to finally come out to Robert. When she saw what he did, she was furious. And so was Jace, who was sitting over by the side with Lydia. They were all over at Lydia and Alec’s and were chatting. Lydia also wasn’t happy when Alec told her what Robert did and she felt the anger sparking up again.

“Yeah, kind of stormed out,” said Alec and then bit his lip, shrugging. 

“How dares he?” grumbled Jace and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. Oh, he was pissed off with Robert. Isabelle, who was trying her best to keep her anger under control, took in a deep breath and started massaging her temples, shaking his head. But this… she didn’t think that Robert would be such an asshole about it. The only good thing was that Alec didn’t seem too hurt about it. But Izzy was furious. 

“I’ll have a talk with him,” said Izzy and Alec shook his head.

“Probably it’s the best to leave him alone,” said Alec and huffed under his breath. “I mean trying to force dad about something will have more damage than good,” said Alec. it was sad, but it was true and they all knew it.

“True,” said Lydia and then pressed her lips together.

“I mean at least he didn't’ say anything,” said Alec and shrugged. “That’s something at least,” said Alec and Jace pressed his lips together and he shook his head.

“It means he’s a piece of shit dad,” said Jace, blinded with his anger and Alec rubbed the back of his neck and then he shrugged. He didn't really see it like that. Robert needed time and space and that was what he was giving his father. He didn’t try contacting him after that; he waited and hoped that Robert would come around. If not, then it was his loss. Really. Alec was surprised how much he changed. In the past, a reaction like this would have hurt him a whole lot more.

It wasn’t ideal, of course he wished that his father would accept him right away, but Robert needed time. And that was what Alec was giving him. “I’m pretty sure he’ll come around,” said Alec and took a sip of his beer. Lydia looked at him and then she hummed along.

“You’ve changed,” said Lydia softly and Alec looked at her. Was that a good thing? “In a good way, I mean,” she quickly explained it and Alec gave her a little nod. “It’s good that you don’t allow it to throw you off completely,” said Lydia and Alec shrugged again.

“I mean I’m giving him the time and space that he needs to accept it,” said Alec and then made a little pause. “And in case that he doesn't, then it’s his loss really. I’m pretty damn great and if me liking guys somehow changes that then I don’t want to have anything to do with him,” said Alec simply. Izzy pressed her lips together; she was proud. And happy to see Alec like this - completely free and unapologetic to be who he was. It was something that he was struggling to achieve for years and it was amazing to see him like that. It truly was. She was a proud sister.

“Are you sure?” asked Jace, but he also agreed with Alec. “If not I can have a word with him,” said Alec and formed a fist. Alec laughed and shook his head.

“I’m sure, Jace, chill,” said Alec and Jace finally backed down, but still wasn’t too happy about this. He hoped that Robert would stop being so stubborn. He knew that he wasn’t too happy to find out about the divorce the way he did, but still. At least Alec didn’t seem too bothered; he looked pretty happy if he was being honest and that was all that mattered to Jace. 


	18. Chapter 18

“Say  _ ah, _ ” said Magnus as he was trying to feed Alexander his lunch and the other flushed a little bit and then he cleared his throat. Magnus was over at his office; it was lunch time and Magnus popped over and brought them some lunch. Alec had always wished that this would happen to him; Underhill was always blessed to have Marcel come over, so now it was finally Alec’s time to experience it and it was pretty good. Magnus was sitting on top of his desk and he had to agree that he liked how Magnus looked sitting on top of his desk and he dragged his tongue over his lips and then he snapped back to reality and finally opened up his mouth and allowed Magnus to feed him, his cheeks reddening even more and Magnus happily giggled when he saw how happy Alec looked.

“Mmm, it’s good,” said Alec with his mouth full and Magnus nodded.

“Of course it is, I picked out the lunch for the two of us,” said Magnus and waggled his eyebrows. Alec snorted and then nodded. Magnus did have a good palate when it came to taste and he pressed his lips together, but Magnus was again back with some more food. “Come on, it’s a long day in front of you, you have to eat some more,” said Magnus with a pout and Alec snorted. Well, he definitely wanted some more, but he had questions; what was the feeding for? Alec arched his brow.

“What’s the pampering for?” asked Alec and then took the food from the dork with his teeth and Magnus shrugged.

“What?” asked Magnus and winked. “I just want to pamper you a little bit. I know you’ve had quite a few rough days here,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. Well, that was true. Alec’s work days have been quite hectic these days so Magnus had a point. He guessed that Magnus just wanted to pamper him a bit because of that. And Alec was loving all the attention that he was currently getting, his smile widening a little bit and he hummed along again, swallowing down the food and he came closer to Magnus, who spread open his legs a little bit so that Alec could be closer to him.

“You know,” said Alec and Magnus hummed along.

“Yes?”

“I have to admit that I like how you look sitting on top of my desk like this,” said Alec, not really shyly at all. Magnus knew what he meant by that and he chuckled softly and then winked. Ah, Alec was getting bolder and bolder; he was loving it. Alec’s hand was now on Magnus’ leg, but wasn’t really holding him in a sexual manner. More like holding his hand there because he wanted some physical attention and Magnus smiled softly.

“Oh, yeah?” asked Magnus and then looked around the office. Well, he had to admit that office was one of his kinks as well. “Have you been thinking about me on your desk a lot?” asked Magnus with a wink and Alec snorted, rolled his eyes bu then he ended up nodding and Magnus took in a sharp breath and he slowly slid down from the desk and he sat on top of Alec’s legs, straddling them and he smiled when he felt Alec’s strong arms going around him.

“Yes,” said Alec in the end.

“I see,” said Magnus and winked. “And what kind of things were you thinking about?” asked Magnus, but then he noticed that Alec was getting shy a little bit and he chuckled softly. Oh, Alexander was still so adorable. To this day. Magnus chewed on his lip, but didn’t add onto that anything; he wanted to hear Alec to come out and say what kind of things he was thinking about. He wanted to hear all of the dirty secrets that were hidden in Alec’s mind.

Alec felt a little bit flushed, but that didn’t shy him away from telling Magnus what exactly was on his mind. “Well,” said Alec and then bit onto his lower lip. “Things like kissing,” mumbled Alec and Magnus laughed softly.  _ Ah, but there had to be so much more if Alexander was flushing like this.  _ Magnus felt a little rush of excitement going through him and he pressed down onto Alec harder and he felt Alec gasp beneath him. 

_ Lovely reaction. _

“Only kissing?” asked Magnus and winked.

“There’s more,” gasped Alec along and he swallowed thickly. Oh, Magnus wanted to hear about that  _ more _ . 

“Yes?” asked Magnus and chased Alec’s lips with his own. His throat felt dry a little bit and he placed a little peck on top of Alec’s lips. “I’m kissing you right now,” purred Magnus against Alec’s lips and the other smiled a little bit and gulped down as well, his arms still holding Magnus closer than ever and then he had to take a few moments to carry on.

“Apart from kissing, I-I want to touch you,” said Alec and Magnus’ head was spinning a little bit. Alec wasn’t really being specific about it. Magnus wanted to know where and how Alec would touch him; there was so much more that he wanted to know, but then at the same time there was something really thrilling about the unknown. Magnus dragged his tongue over his lower lip and decided to push Alec a little bit more. He learned that Alec needed a little push to really say what was on his mind.

“You’re touching me now,” teased Magnus and Alec shook his head.

“That’s not… how, I mean,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly and then kissed Alec again, but this time the kiss lingered a little bit longer, both of them groaning as the kiss was getting deeper and deeper. Alec felt his body heating up and somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered that the door of his office wasn’t locked. But then Magnus moaned when he bit into his lower lip and the voice inside of Alec’s head was silenced. Magnus made some pretty sounds, Alec wanted to hear more of those.

“I have to admit, I’ve thought about a thing or two as well,” said Magnus as they parted. Oh, Alec wasn’t the only one that was completely uncollected by then. Magnus was breathing hard and uneven. Alec could see a little flush welcoming his cheeks and he was happy to see that Magnus was getting off to this as much as he. And all they were doing was making out and talking about their little fantasies. 

“Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm,” cooed Magnus and Alec gulped.

“Tell me,” was Alec’s order. 

_ Oh, that was an order alright.  _ Magnus felt shivers going up his spine and he swallowed thickly, his breath shaking a little bit and then he had to think about it a little bit because- “You’d kiss me, lock the door,” said Magnus and Alec nodded and then chewed on his lower lip. “Or perhaps leave it unlocked, that adds onto the thrill about it all,” said Magnus and Alec moaned along. He had to agree that it was true, the possibility of getting caught was kind of- “Then you’d bend me over your desk and-”

“Oh, God,” stammered Alec because he could just imagine this happening and a grin tugged onto Magnus’ smile because he could tell that Alec was getting completely lost in his fantasies. He licked across his lower lip and he pressed down onto Alec again, gasping because he could feel that Alec was hard underneath him and he bit his lower lip. “Shit, I’m sorry, I-” stammered Alec, but Magnus shook his head.

“Don’t be, I’m flattered,” said Magnus and winked.

Alec laughed dryly. “Shut up,” said Alec, joking and Magnus chewed on his lip. Well. They haven’t really done anything, but he wasn’t sure if Alec would want something to happen for the very first time in his office. There were so many things that were rushing through Magnus’ mind. He would love to take care of ALexander right there and then. It wasn't like he could continue his work day like that. He was all pent up, poor thing. But then again he didn’t know how Alec felt about it, so he decided that perhaps he should stand up and then ask Alexander about it. 

Magnus stood up and wanted to move back, but Alec pulled him back down on top of his legs and then groaned because- “Wait,” panted Alec and then gulped. His entire body was buzzing, he felt too hot and he needed release. He pressed his hand lower, in between his legs and Magnus moaned along because he ended touching him as well and Alec cursed under his breath. “I want,” said Alec and then cleared his throat. Magnus’ eyes were growing.

“Yes?” asked Magnus, gasping it against his lips.

“I mean,” said Alec and then chewed on his lip, looking around. “I can’t work like this, I… I want… I mean I don’t want to do it alone, it’s-”

“Want me to get you off?” asked Magnus straightforwardly and Alec nodded. “You sure?”

“Gods, yes,” groaned Alec, who was painfully hard by now. 

“Mmm, let me take care of you, you poor thing,” said Magnus and then pushed Alec gently back against the chair and helped him pull down his pants and underwear just enough, straddling his legs again and Magnus was painfully hard as well, wrapping his fingers around Alec’s member. Both of them moaned at that point and Alec grabbed onto the chair. Magnus didn’t even start moving his hand yet, but Alec was already  _ close. _

It was so overstimulating. It was his first time with Magnus  _ and a guy.  _ It was so good, Magnus’ hand felt good on him and his toes curled when Magnus moved his hand. But still, even if it was his first time, he was embarrassed that it would be all over so soon. He wanted it to last; he wanted to impress Magnus, maybe. Just a little bit. Yet- “Fuck, I don’t think I’ll last long, I’m sorry, I-”

“Don’t apologise, angel,” said Magnus and smiled softly. “Don’t worry, just enjoy,” whispered Magnus against Alec’s lips and the other nodded.  _ Oh, he was planning on enjoying this properly and fully.  _ Licking across his lower lip, Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus’ shoulder and then pulled him closer to kiss him as Magnus finally started moving his hand, Alec arching his back a little bit and he closed his eyes.

Magnus smiled; he could tell how much Alec was enjoying this, urging him along, whispering little praises into his ears. Oh, Alec liked the praises, perhaps a little bit too much. Magnus made a little memo inside of his mind to try the praises next time as well. He loved Alexander’s reactions, his little mewls and gasps as the pleasure was building up. Alec was trying his best to control his breathing and the sounds that he was making, but Magnus didn’t want him to be holding back. He wanted Alec to completely lose himself in the pleasure that he was feeling and he gently kissed him.

“Don’t hold back, Alexander, let me hear you,” said Magnus and Alec groaned a little bit. Magnus tightened the grip around him and his hips were buckling like crazy. Magnus smiled softly and kissed the tip of his nose. “You sound amazing, don’t hold back. Love, enjoy it to the fullest,” was urging him Magnus.

“Magnus, I can’t… I will..  _ Oh, oh- _ ” was gasping Alec and then it all came crashing down onto him. He came with Magnus’ name on his lips, Magnus swallowing down his every moan as he crushed their lips together in a deep kiss yet again and Alec was slowly coming back down to Earth, Magnus leaning over for the tissues and disposing of them when he cleaned them both up. 

Magnus smiled when he saw Alec looking up at him. “Feeling better?”

“Oh, yes,” said Alec, his brain feeling like mush. He glanced down and wanted to ask if he should return the favour, but then they heard footsteps coming closer to Alec’s office. Because they didn’t lock the door, Magnus was catapulted onto his legs and Alec pulled up his pants just in time. Luckily it was only Underhill, who was left leaving Alec’s office and trying not to burst out laughing as the two tried to explain that they were in the middle of lunch.

_ Luch, right.  _

Both of them burst into loud laughter. Sadly, the moment was ended, but Alec was planning on how he was going to make sure that he was going to take care of Magnus as well next time!


End file.
